Fallout
by The Silversage
Summary: A post "Raven Chaser" story. Because "The Raven Chaser" opened many doors…and Kaito worries. Animeverse/Movieverse.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Summary: a post "Raven Chaser" story. Because "The Raven Chaser" opened many doors…and Kaito worries. Animeverse/Movieverse.

/

/

"As always, it's been a pleasure Nakamori-keibu." Kid smirked from atop a display case at the muffled curses from the bottom of a failed dog-pile. The Suzuki family's Yellow Star Diamond …or Princess Emerald? He was really starting to lose track of how many jewels the hopelessly rich family actually had; at this point it was just a chance to play with his favorite miniature detective, was now safely tucked in his inner pocket and speaking of his favorite chibi… He smiled at the overly obvious shadowy niche between artfully displayed potted trees, "Forgive me Hakuba," he reached behind his current perch where he'd been noticing tiny scurried movements during most of the heist, "but I'll be borrowing this." He lifted and dangled the now wide-eyed bespectacled mouse for the hiding blonde to see before disappearing in a cloud of pink.

/

"**Fallout: Repercussions**"

by: The Silversage

/

"What the hell is that idiot doing now_?_!" Nakamori fumed, freshly extracted from being pinned. Several newly bruised officers delicately moved out of their irate chief's pacing path… and his fists. "The shiny rocks I understand but now the deviant's stealing kids_?_!"

"Wasn't that the boy who works for that Sleeping Kogoro?" Officer Sensui whispered to his fellow victims of Nakamori's temper. "How did he get in here_?_!"

"More importantly, which one of us has to tell Mouri-san his assistant was kidnapped by Kid?" Officer Kowata whispered back.

Hakuba wisely gave Nakamori and the strike-force a wide berth and circled the display pedestal the thief had disappeared from. Looking directly up gave him an open view five floors up to the ceiling skylights, very _closed_ skylights at that, in the circular atrium with curved winding stairs encircling the open space up to the top floor. But the third floor landing was almost directly over the display case. Hakuba grinned, "I've got you now, thief!"

* * *

"Let me go! What kind of joke are you trying to pull! It's not funny!" Conan struggled from his position tucked under the arm of the white clad thief around his waist, arms and legs flailing uselessly. He slightly considered biting Kaitou Kid's side.

"No, it's not," answered a tight monotone.

The absolute coldness of the usually mirthful Kid stopped Conan cold in his struggles and he finally took a good look at his kidnapper's face such as he could see it. Kaitou Kid was in full poker-face mode from what he could tell with the obscuring shadows of the hallway lit only by red emergency lights, if anything the phantom thief seemed… angry. Angry? At him? He'd seen Kid's face peeved and perhaps a pout or two when he'd fouled up the thief's heists but the thief had never been all that angry at him over it, and this heist was currently working in the thief's favor so that couldn't be it. "Where are we going?" Conan finally ventured, hanging limply. The thief spared him a quick glance but didn't answer finally turning a corner in the museum's maze of corridors entering a dead end hallway with a single door at the end clearly labeled Museum Director. Conan sighed and settled into the jolting up and down of the phantom thief's ambling pace. He wasn't the least bit surprised that the director's door had apparently been left unlocked. The thief paused inside the office to close and lock the door before walking to the desk and setting him standing on the desk top with surprising gentleness for his earlier severe expression. He turned Conan around to face him, before pulling the small boy into a tight hug.

'_Wait, …what?_!_' _Conan froze in the thief's arms currently pressed against layers of white silk that smelled slightly of the pink smoke the thief was so fond of. '_Cotton candy, I never noticed until now. Only __**he **__would flavor scent his smoke bombs.'_ Conan mentally slapped himself before attempting to look up from where his head was tucked under Kid's chin. "What the hell are you doing?" Conan praised himself for managing to keep any surprise or shock out of his voice and actually sounding as terse and cross as he meant his voice to sound.

Kid finally let go enough to move his grip to Conan's shoulders. "No, the question is what the hell did you think _you_ were doing Kudo_?_!"

Conan stiffened at the use of his real name. "What are you talking abou-"

"Are you _trying_ to get your self killed_?_!" Kid hissed through a voice that was desperately trying not to be all-out shouting punctuating every few words with hard shakes. "And how about Ran-san? Are you trying to get her killed too Kudo?"

"I really don't know what you're talking about and I'd **thank** you to stop **using** that name **OUT LOUD**!" Conan shouted.

"Oh, really! You don't know what I'm talking about!" Kaito let go one of Conan's shoulders long enough to pull his card gun and point it straight out to his side letting two cards fly blind at the office window. Conan watched the window blinds fall to the ground leaving Touto Tower perfectly framed in the narrow glass.

Touto Tower still closed and under construction from the recent helicopter attack on its observation deck. Conan caught his breath at the terror that was barely a week past. He had avoided looking at the tower all week and now he couldn't seem to look away. Panic was crawling up his throat and he was sure as soon as it reached his mouth he'd start screaming and he wouldn't be able to stop. At the time, he'd done everything he could to get Ran and himself out alive through Irish's attack and the later helicopter attack. Now that he had time to think, the idea that Gin or anyone else in the helicopter might have gotten enough of a glimpse to identify him was haunting every nightmare he had at night and every daydream during the day.

"..o…-udo…Kudo…KUDO!"

Conan gasped and opened his eyes to realize Kid had been shaking him and all out screaming at him for a while. He focused on Kaito's panicked blue eyes, for once, clear of any convenient shadows and only a few inches from his own.

"Breathe Kudo," Kid commanded quietly.

Conan took a deep breath and noticed for the first time that he had Kid's two wrists at his shoulders in a tight death grip, his nails digging into flesh deeply. It took more than a few tries to get his fingers to obey the command to disengage. "…I'm sorry," Conan finally managed weakly, still staring at the half-moon indents slowly collecting blood on pale skin.

"What happened to you, Kudo?" Kid asked quietly, "What happened on that tower?" He tried desperately to catch the boy's eyes but Conan seemed too fascinated with Kid's bleeding wrists to notice. There was something about the boy's stillness that scared him. He decided he much preferred the chibi detective when he was trying to take his head off with power-kicked soccer balls to this deathly still, quiet version in front of him. "I was here, casing the place when it happened," he wasn't sure why he kept talking except for the hope that it might get Kudo to stop staring at his blood; it was more than a little creepy. "I watched it on the director's tv. When I realized you must be there, I tried to get there as soon as I could. I didn't have my hang glider or I would have been there in time to help." He finally gripped Conan's chin and forced him to look back at him. "I'm sorry too, Kudo. I really would have tried to help you and Ran-san if I could have."

"You would have gotten killed," Conan whispered. "If you get involved with this… if they think you're helping me, they'll kill you." Conan shoved Kid's grip off him completely and stepped back on the desk, which wasn't far unless he wanted to climb over the museum director's ledgers sprawled over the desk top.

"Who's 'They'? What did you get into Kudo? Who the hell did you piss off that managed to get a hold of a military combat helicopter in the middle of Japan_?_!" Kid demanded leaning over the desk. Kudo was trying to distance himself and shut him out… well, the thief was definitely having none of that. He grabbed a fistful of blue blazer and pulled Conan back to him. "Talk or I'll **make** you talk."

* * *

Hakuba crouched at the office door with his pistol drawn. He usually didn't carry it to Kid heists but the new element of snipers that had been showing up lately had him bringing it out of its usual lock box in his closet. He never thought he'd be using it against Kid for something as unreal as kidnapping Mouri Kogoro's young ward.

A quick check had confirmed that the phantom thief had locked the office door behind him. "Always knew there was something wrong with Kuroba…" he muttered, opening the barrel and checking how many shots he had loaded, "…all along."

_Hakuba was quite proud of himself for having caught up with the thief so quickly. It didn't hurt that the thief had been walking casually along like he was strolling through a park. He was slightly worried that little Conan wasn't fighting tooth and claw to get free. Everything he had observed at the sunset mansion case had led him to believe the boy was more tenacious than to allow himself to be taken so easily, especially by the phantom thief, their annoyance of a quarry. He was quite sure the boy was unconscious until Conan had asked the thief where they were going. He was shocked to think the boy was allowing himself to be taken by the thief. Maybe that had been why he hadn't immediately kicked the door in to save Mouri's ward and was instead listening with his ear to the door. He had been even more shocked to hear the thief using the name Kudo repeatedly, yet the only voice that ever answered had been Conan's._

"Those two in there have quite a few questions to answer," Hakuba decided with finality and pointed the Smith & Wesson at the door lock.

* * *

"It's none of your business what I'm 'into' and what do you mean you'll make me," Conan challenged.

Kid grinned his familiar manic grin for the first time since being alone with Kudo. So good to have his usual testy tantei-kun back. He pulled a small thin tube from his breast pocket that almost looked like a small thin pen but a quick twist had a shiny, angry looking needle peeking from where the ballpoint tip would have.

"Um… what is that?" Conan asked in a small voice, round eyes fixated on the needle, hands frozen on Kid's hold on his blazer.

Kid laughed, "Ever heard of sodium pentathol Kudo? Of course, knowing you, you've probably used it on someone before."

"You carry truth serum around in your pockets?" Conan shrunk back as much as he could in Kid's grip.

"Well, Kudo, I had every intention of finding out what kind of trouble you've gotten yourself into tonight so I came prepared. You have a very bad habit of being unreasonably stubborn and unfortunately for you, I'm notoriously impatient. But as of tonight you can officially consider this me dealing myself in to your problem. So are we gonna do this the easy way or the hard way?" Kaito swore to himself that he was not enjoying how wide the boy's eyes were getting watching the clear droplet of liquid collecting at the tip of the needle he held… well, maybe a little. 'This is what you get for scaring the crap out of me Kudo.'

Conan gulped hard before turning his angry gaze back to the thief. "You're the one who's gonna get yourself killed if you get involved with this! It's got nothing to do with you anyway!" he hissed.

Kaito grinned, "So it's the hard way, huh."

* * *

Hakuba had heard enough when it became clear that the thief was now threatening the boy for some kind of information. Frankly, both of them had said more than a few confusing things and he was very annoyed to be out of whatever odd loop the phantom thief and Mouri-san's assistant had apparently found themselves in. He wasn't altogether sure which one of them he was going to point his gun at first but the first thing to do was get himself into the office and sort things out later. A single shot and firm kick had the door open and… Hakuba stopped right there. And wondered if it was possible to close the broken door again.

/

"What do you think you're doing you damn pervert!" Conan screamed from where he was dangling upside down bent over Kid's arm while the thief pressed a VERY SHARP needle against his hind end.

"Now, now tantei-kun, naughty children who won't cooperate with the good doctor get their shots here," Kid grinned merrily back at him. Truth be told, Kaito was having a very difficult time keeping himself from laughing. If he did, he'd surely drop Kudo on his head. "So stop being stubborn or I'll pull every secret you're hiding from you including ones about Ran-san."

"Damn it, would you fucking stop," he squirmed around to glare at Kid. "This isn't some big old joke or Nakamori's men chasing you around with police batons. The Black Org. guys will **kill** you, you idiot! And everyone who knows you!" Conan stopped wide-eyed and even comically covered his mouth with both hands.

If Kaito had been thinking clearly, he certainly would have made a point to make fun of the boy. But the world had gone very cold. He never noticed his hand drop away as the needle fell to the floor. His eyes locked on Conan's still upside down face. "Do these guys have a habit of always wearing the same color, like… say, black and have horribly cliché aliases?" His gaze narrowed on Conan searching for any tell the boy might give.

He really needn't have bothered. Conan's wide eyes and pale face told him all he needed to know. "Tantei-kun," he started carefully, "It seems you and I need to have a long talk. Are they what that business at Touto Tower was about?"

Conan didn't bother to deny it this time and slowly nodded. "How do you know them?" he asked quietly but Kid didn't miss the shadow of suspicious accusation in the boy's eyes. Without a word, Kaito solemnly pulled his glass cutter from his belt and slashed a sharp cut through his left sleeve a few inches below the shoulder. With two fingers, he spread the hole open exposing his arm for Conan's inspection. Conan stared at the long white scar understanding full well what had left such a thing.

"Don't worry, tantei-kun, 'They' are no friends of mine," Kid smiled grimly at him. "And before you try making excuses again, there's no danger associating with you can bring me that I haven't already brought on myself," he whispered to his captured audience still slung over his left forearm.

"Unfortunately, we'll have to pick up this conversation later tantei-kun seeing as we're no longer alone," He twisted enough for Conan to finally see the shell-shocked Hakuba in the doorway staring at them gun limply pointing at the floor. "It's awfully rude to stare, tantei-san, and even more rude to spy. Didn't your parents teach you better manners," he teased. Hakuba could only gape at the two of them and Kaito refused to finish the metaphor in his mind.

"How long has he been there?" Conan asked crossly, fighting a blush as he remembered what position the thief was currently holding him in.

"Who knows," the thief sung merrily, "why don't you ask him. Hakuba! Catch!" Hakuba barely had time to let go of his gun before finding his arms full of flying child.

"You ass! A little warning next time!" Conan's muffled voice yelled at the thief from somewhere in Hakuba's chest.

"It's time for me to take my leave, gentlemen," the phantom thief smiled tipping his hat to them, obscuring his face in its shadow. "Don't think you're off the hook, tantei-kun. I'll be back to finish our discussion later. Hakuba, always a pleasure." A flash grenade later and the two detectives were left in an empty room. A white hang glider flew through the sky outside the blindless closed window.

"I really hate flash grenades," Hakuba muttered setting Conan back on the ground with one hand while scrubbing at his eyes with the other.

"Hakuba-niichan, it looks like he left a note," Conan pointed to a small card stuck in the window frame above him with all the wide-eyed innocence he could muster hoping against hope that Hakuba hadn't heard too much of his conversation with the phantom thief. By the odd look the taller boy was giving him, it seemed he was out of luck.

Hakuba reached over Conan's head to pluck the card from the window. "It says 'check your pocket, tantei-kun'," he managed after a few hard blinks.

Conan patted himself down before feeling something new. He slowly pulled a gaudy bejeweled pendant from his back pocket. "I'm going to **kill** him," Conan muttered straightening his clothes.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, Conan-kun," Hakuba smirked returning his gun to his shoulder holster. "You're a pretty decent detective and it would be a shame for me to send you to jail… even if the feeling is mutual." He dropped down to receive the necklace from the small boy. "I don't suppose you're going to explain what you two were talking about earlier?" he asked giving Conan a sharp searching look. "I'd hate to think a smart child like you would be involved in that thief's business."

Conan held Hakuba's piercing gaze before looking away back towards the window. He dropped any pretense at childish cuteness with a tired sigh. "More like he's butting in on mine," he answered.

Hakuba watched the boy a bit longer taking in the weariness that hung over him making him look far older than any seven-year-old had a right to. "We should take this necklace back to Nakamori-keibu." He walked out the door too unnerved to watch the boy anymore.

"Right," Conan agreed turning away from the window meaning to follow Hakuba out the door when his gaze fell on something shiny in the thick carpet. A quick search found him the trick pen/ hypodermic needle that nearly wound up in a very tender place. He unscrewed the plastic casing and pulled out the syringe encased inside. He pressed the stopper down enough to release a single droplet onto his finger and gave it an experimental lick. His eyes widened in surprise before darkening in fury. "That bastard! This is water!"

~fin~

/

/

/


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: not mine. Movie-verse and anime-verse.

/

/

**Chapter 2**

/

"Aaaah!"

Conan jerked awake on his futon by Kogoro's bed clutching his chest where his heart was beating so fast it almost felt like it was humming painfully in his chest. And like every night for the last week and a half, he shot out of bed once he was sure that his legs wouldn't fold right under him and raced for Ran's bedroom. He flung the door open and stood gasping in the doorway only feeling reassured when he saw her shift under the blankets. He stood there watching her sleep dragging shuddering breaths into his lungs and waited for his pulse to slow closer to normal.

Every night he waited for the nightmares to stop but they had only been getting worse. He sighed and dragged himself back to Kogoro's room for his new nightly ritual of hauling his pillow and blanket to Ran's bedside rug. Experience had already taught him he wouldn't see another wink of sleep through the night if he couldn't hear the reassurance of her soft breathing.

"I am so screwed up," he muttered curling up in a ball on the fuzzy rug before closing his eyes again.

* * *

"Conan-kun! It's time to get up, breakfast is almost ready!"

The boy in question stretched and yawned under the comfortable mound of pink bed sheets and buried himself deeper amid the scent of fresh laundry detergent and Ran's lavender shampoo. So began another morning of his and Ran's new routine. He, falling asleep on her floor… and waking up tucked in her bed. He had gotten over his fits of blushing after the first few days of this.

She had only questioned him the first day or two and he had mumbled something about nightmares. She now made a point of not bringing up anything about his new sleeping habits and even occasionally ran interference with her father's questions. She had even gone as far as asking if he wanted to move his futon to her room… which he quickly shot down and she hadn't brought up again. He suspected she had adopted the mindset of waiting for him to open up to her when he was ready. That was hardly going to happen soon.

He sighed and snuggled his face halfway under her pillow. A year's worth of murder cases were currently kicking his ass as his subconscious was finding more and more creative ways for Gin and Vodka to kill her and everyone else he held dear each night and he had given up trying to think of a believable excuse he could give her about the so-called Touto Tower Disaster as the news had dubbed it and settled for saying nothing at all. He was now banking on Ran's unobtrusive nature to get him through this one. Though who knew what ideas she had come up with on her own between the news reports, the slew of unconscious police officers she _must_ have passed on her way up, and her own fight with Irish.

And Ran was the least of his worries. He was also currently avoiding Detectives Sato and Takagi. Sato kept trying to catch him alone to question him about his part in the helicopter attack since he had yet to go make his statement and had taken to following him around with a hawk-like look in her eyes on the few cases he had attended the past week. He had a feeling Sato wanted nothing more than to drag him bodily to the nearest interrogation room. Takagi was also watching him oddly with that same look he had back when they were trapped in the elevator together. He was a little more worried about Takagi's possible questions than Sato's. He sometimes forgot Takagi was a lot sharper than people gave him credit for.

Last night's Kid heist had only added more headaches to his current list of woes. Kid heists usually ran the same pattern. Kid sends a notice, he figures out the riddle/trick before anyone else, confront Kid, Kid gets away without his prize… usually. But at last night's museum robbery, Kaitou Kid had thrown out their somewhat comfortable routine in favor of stealing him… for a scolding? The damn thief had actually been worried about him. Frightened for him. He felt he should be disturbed but he mostly felt… confused. And _then_ the thief had admitted to knowing about the Black Organization. He still didn't know what to feel about that. Kid had gotten Hakuba drawn into his mess too and he had a terrible feeling the thief was going to make a nuisance of himself and cause him even more trouble than he already had.

With a last groan of protest he threw the comforter back and hauled himself out of his comfortable warm spot and dropped to the floor. "I'm coming Ran-neechan," he called on his way to the bathroom to go change.

/

"Hurry, or we'll be running late," she called to him from the kitchen after a few minutes.

"Uhn…" Conan mumbled between yawns joining her in the kitchen and leaning against the cabinets by her legs, a hand automatically attaching to her skirt. This was another habit he'd picked up. No one had been more surprised than him the first time his hand had latched onto her skirt on the way home from the tower after being patched up by the paramedics… except Ran who had almost roundhouse kicked him thinking she was being groped. He'd apologized red-faced the whole way home yet his hand kept finding its way to her skirt. He gave up his embarrassed pride after the fifth time preferring the reassurance that holding onto her gave him. Like his nightmares, she had yet to say anything about his newfound clingy-ness, which was fine with him.

He closed his eyes feeling her cool hand brush through his bangs and settle on his forehead. "You're a little warm. You snuck out for that Kid case last night, didn't you," Ran accused without any real anger. Conan gave an annoyed snort at mention of the thief. "Do you want to stay home?"

"I'm fine," he protested through a yawn. "Just a little tired."

"I know," she replied quietly. Conan tensed waiting for the other shoe to drop and for the questions he felt behind her tone to start, but she turned back to the counter to serve the freshly finished rice. "Go tell Dad that breakfast is ready," she told him gently disentangling his hand from her side and giving him a push towards the bedroom. She watched him with worried eyes stumble into the hallway wall and finally use his hand on the wall to keep himself steady on the way to wake her snoring father.

* * *

"We're here, Conan-kun. You can let go now."

"Huh?" Conan shook himself from his absentminded daze looking up at the front gates of Teitan High School. "Oh, right." He made no real move to let go.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you earlier. My karate practice is canceled today so I'll wait for you here at the gates. You don't want me walking home alone, right?" she smiled down at him.

Conan tilted his head in surprise and confusion. The tinges of worry haunting her eyes made him drop his gaze sharply.

"You brat! What happened to our deal_?_!"

"Waaaah!" Conan cried in surprise finding himself being hoisted off the ground by the back of his windbreaker. His eyes widened, realizing his hand attached to Ran was lifting too, exposing more and more of her smooth bare thigh inches from his face. "**Put me down!**" he yelled red-faced.

"**Put him down Sonoko!**" Ran screamed, desperately clamping her hands against her skirt above Conan's fist.

"Oops, sorry Ran," Sonoko giggled. She unceremoniously dropped Conan back to ground. Conan glared at her in embarrassment. "Oh cut it out, chibi. You got a free show, didn't you."

"Sonoko!" Ran scolded absolutely scandalized. "And what deal?"

"That's right," Sonoko whirled on Conan, back on track, and grabbed his shoulders. "We had a deal! I get you permission to enter the museum during the Kid heist and you were _supposed_ to call me with all the details and You. Never. Called!" She punctuated her words with well-placed shakes. "Stupid chemistry test!" she wailed in dramatic despair, "I could have seen Kid-sama last night!"

Ran planted her hands on her hips in full protective 'sister' mode. "Don't encourage him to go out at all hours of the night, especially to chase that criminal all by himself. What if he had gotten hurt?"

"Oh please, Ran. No one gets hurt at one of Kid-sama's heists; it's a rule. Everyone knows that," Sonoko muttered with a roll of her eyes before turning her attention back to her prey. "So? How close did you get to him? Close enough to grab a piece of his outfit? Did you get anything from him?" Sonoko bounced excitedly.

"Yeah. A headache," Conan huffed irritably.

"You better not be holding out on me, chibi. I want full details," Sonoko demanded.

"Well it'll have to be later," Ran broke in rescuing Conan from Sonoko's iron grip. "You better hurry or you'll be late." Conan nodded and stared at his hand for a moment before finally letting go. "See you after school," Ran called to his retreating form.

"Is he still hanging on to you?" Sonoko asked watching him turn the corner. Ran sighed and started for the shoe lockers. "He's walked you to school everyday for the last week and a half and he clings to you like an actual seven-year-old. It's almost creepy."

Ran leaned her arm on her locker and thumped her forehead against it. "I don't know what to do, Sonoko. He's jumping at every single shadow lately and won't let me run a single errand without him. And I _know_ it's because of whatever happened that night at the tower. He hasn't slept through the night since and he won't tell me **why**!" She slammed her fist into the locker with a resounding echo hard enough to dent the metal. Several students nearby froze and started edging away from the frustrated karate champ. "Shinichi does the same thing. When things are fine he never shuts up about solving his latest case or how _wonderful_ Holmes is but when something actually bothers him he shuts me out."

"Aren't you blowing things out of proportion a little," Sonoko defended. "He's a kid. Maybe he just saw a scary movie or something and he's too embarrassed to say so." Ran turned her head enough to glare tearfully with one eye. "Right, like something normal like that would happen with _this_ kid," Sonoko finished leaning back against the lockers next to her friend.

"The thing is, this has happened before," Ran confided quietly. "Not this bad or anything… but, around Jodie-sensei's goodbye party and after Dad helped Mizunashi Rena-san he was really jumpy… like something had scared him."

"Why don't you just ask him?" Sonoko asked her friend seriously.

Ran thought back to the terrifying armed man wearing Superintendent Matsumoto's face, Chiba, Shiratori and Megure-keibu lying unconscious on the floor with the other detectives, her slowly fading bruises. "I don't think I could take it if he lied to me about what happened that night," she finally replied.

* * *

"Conan-kun… do you think Ran-san will be angry with you?" Ayumi asked in a worried voice.

Conan sighed shoving the referral slip to the bottom of his backpack while pointedly ignoring both the worried looks of his friends and the snickers Ai wasn't even trying to hide.

"Sent to the office for sleeping in class," she laughed thoroughly amused, "It seems Edogawa-kun's turning into a delinquent before our very eyes. Maybe next he'll start cutting class to go solve cases without us." Conan spared her a glare which she challenged back with wicked mirth before shouldering his backpack and leaving them all behind in his irritated stomp toward the door.

"Conan-kun?" Conan paused in the doorway and met his teacher's disappointed eyes. "I know my class may be boring for an advanced student like you, but no more sleeping during my lessons. Bring that notice back signed tomorrow."

"Yes, Kobayashi-sensei," he mumbled before making a quick escape. He changed his shoes as quickly as possible before his friends could hound him about his first ever trip to the principle's office and ran for the gates. Sure, Shinichi had made regular visits to the principal for borrowing various things from the science lab prep room without permission, setting the lab on fire… three separate times. He'd even gotten Ran in trouble a few times. But Conan's reputation had been pristine until today. "Today couldn't possibly get worse," he muttered. He froze wide-eyed at the blonde teenager leaning casually against the front gate.

"Conan-kun," Hakuba nodded to him.

"That's it. Today officially sucks." He watched Hakuba's eyebrows disappear into his hairline with a smidgen of satisfaction. Conan stared at him balefully before squaring his shoulders and marching past him. Hakuba pushed off the gate wall and followed after him. They walked along in silence until Conan glanced at him from the corner of his eye studying his uniform with an appraising gaze. "You got here fast. Isn't Ekoda on the other side of town?"

"Circumstances caused me to leave class early today," Hakuba replied in a slightly vexed tone. "And of the two, you're easier to find."

It was Conan's turn to raise his eyebrows. "Can I take that to mean you know where to find Kaitou Kid?"

"Except when he plays hooky," Hakuba muttered kicking a broken piece of sidewalk into the street in an uncharacteristic display of frustration.

Conan narrowed his eyes in dawning realization, "And you were thinking you'd find him with me."

Hakuba accepted Conan's accusing glare smoothly. "He _did_ say he was going to come speak with you again. The phantom thief is many things, most of them unmentionable in polite company, but he's always true to his word," Hakuba replied begrudgingly. "And for some reason he seems to believe you are in enough trouble to warrant his stepping in."

Conan turned away in a full pout. "I never asked for help from _him_."

"Regardless, once he sets his mind to something, he always follows through. It's rather annoying actually," Hakuba sighed. "If he hasn't come to see you yet, he will soon."

"Joy," Conan muttered. They continued along in silence a while longer, even though he was aware that Hakuba was watching him with open suspicion.

"What is the Black Org?"

Conan paused ever so slightly between steps and kept his eyes glued to the ground to hide his face as best he could. He prayed that small reaction would slide knowing full well it wouldn't around someone as anal as Hakuba Saguru who counted tenths of seconds. "How should I know," he blatantly lied. He snuck a desperate glance down the road. He was still four blocks from Teitan High and possible rescue.

Hakuba's suspicion became open glare. He reached down and painfully yanked Conan by the arm to face him in a tight hold. "Let's try this again. I **plainly** heard you last night **heavily** imply the involvement of this 'black' 'org' in the Touto Tower Disaster. That **idiot** of a thief **admitted** to **knowing** these criminals. Criminals **you** seem to be protecting because I can tell you for a **fact** that the name 'Black Org' has not appeared in a single police report about the events at the tower that night. And lets be clear, I've read every report available about the incident. So I'll ask again, what is the Black Org? If you don't answer me, I **will** report you for concealing evidence!"

He stopped his tirade realizing his prisoner was actually shaking in his hold. Rather than glaring or yelling back as he expected of the boy, Conan was desperately searching the streets and he was forced to realize that they had called a bit of attention to themselves. Various shopkeepers and people milling about had stopped in their tracks and were glaring at what appeared to all the world as a teenager bullying a small child. He was suddenly very aware of his identifying hair color and school uniform. He let go of Conan's arm quickly with every intention of apologizing for losing his temper. Conan for his part gave him one last wild-eyed look of fear before bolting like a frightened rabbit. Despite the glares and whispers of the people on the street around him and the realization his high school was about to receive several calls about his behavior, the clear logical part of his mind processed Conan's reaction before he took off running after the child.

Conan rounded the last corner with Teitan High in sight before his actions caught up with him. He had panicked; Hakuba had shouted Black Org. on a crowded street corner and he had utterly and completely panicked. Any denial he could have made about knowing about the Black Organization was out of the question now. He'd just confirmed to the British detective he knew exactly what they were. He couldn't have been more clear if he'd sung him a song… and losing his composure so badly was not like him. It had to be the lack of decent sleep. Of course realizing this didn't calm him enough to slow down.

He spied his target just past the gates of the school and he bolted across the street without a single look at approaching traffic. He barely dodged a delivery truck and was luckier than he cared to admit to make it across without injury or causing an accident.

Ran and Sonoko looked up at the sudden blaring of horns and Ran barely had time to take a bracing horse stance before Conan barreled into her side. She flushed brightly as his hands scrambled for handholds in her pleated skirt, his left hand doing a fine job of groping her rear in his quite innocent attempt to keep himself upright. He leaned against her legs gasping in deep gulps of air with his heart hammering loudly and he boldly pressed his flushed face to her cool legs.

"Conan-kun! What's wrong? What happened?" Ran dropped her school satchel and wrapped her arms around him as best she could from her awkward angle.

Sonoko swung around, searching for whatever axe-wielding madman had been chasing the kid she often considered one of the bravest people she knew in order to scare him so badly. Her eyes landed on the blonde teenager at the gates bent over and bracing his hands on his knees in his own attempt to catch his breath and her mind came to the most logical conclusion it was capable of.

"Hey you!" she yelled across the courtyard. Hakuba looked up in time to see the heavy school bag flying through the air before it slammed into his chest and knocked him back several feet. "What did you do to this kid, you damn pervert!"

Ran spun around to face whatever threat had frightened Conan placing her body between him and the person Sonoko was stalking up to. She gasped recognizing whom her best friend was attacking. "Sonoko! Wait!" She gave an abortive attempt to run after her but was stopped by Conan's firm hold on her. "He's okay, he's a detective!" she shouted after her angry friend.

Sonoko froze in mid purse swing in front of her cringing victim. "Are you sure Ran? It looked like the brat was being chased by this guy to me."

Ran looked down to the small koala attached to her legs. "Conan-kun? Were you running from Hakuba-san?"

"Umm… uh…" Conan stiffened, hiding his face against her skirt and his inner mantra of '_Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap_'. During his panicked run, he'd followed his one imperative of 'Find Ran' and his sleep-exhausted mind could come up with absolutely nothing to explain his bolt through traffic; for her or Hakuba who was back to watching him with that particular hawk-like gaze he usually reserved for flying thieves and classmate pranksters. He wondered if maybe full blown crying would get him out of having to answer anyone's questions.

"It's my fault, Ran-san. I must have startled him," Hakuba finally said in a smooth voice walking up to them. "I saw him by chance and only meant to say hello." He crouched down in front of Conan and ruffled his hair. "I'm very sorry I scared you Conan-kun but running into traffic is dangerous. Please don't scare Ran-san that way again," he smiled wickedly behind his most patronizing voice at Conan before smiling kindly at Ran who returned a bright smile.

Conan glared at him and his smug 'I've got you' smirk… even though he couldn't much argue. He _had_ done everything possible to confirm most of Hakuba's suspicions about him. And now he owed Hakuba for bailing him out. He glanced over Hakuba's shoulder at Sonoko approaching them while dusting off her satchel. A wide smirk spread across his face. '_Deal with this you smug bastard._' "Sonoko-neechan, have you met our friend Hakuba-niichan?" he asked in his most chipper voice. "Did you know he's an _expert_ on tracking and catching the famous _Kaitou Kid?_!" He allowed one hand to let go of Ran to cover an ear from the resulting dog whistle level squealing. His smirk threatened to spill into actual cackling at the fearful look in Hakuba's face, his own smug smirk long gone at the terrifying sounds they both recognized and feared as the squeal of a deranged Kaitou Kid fangirl.

"Come on, Ran-neechan. Lets go home," he sang in a much better mood than he'd had all day pulling on her skirt and leading them both out of Sonoko's pounce path.

"But… well, okay," she replied forced to follow him or risk the buttons holding her skirt's waistline closed tearing. "I guess I'll see you later, Sonoko," she called behind her.

"Uh-huh, I'll be there in an hour," Sonoko yelled after them. Conan grinned hearing her demand of Hakuba for Kid's three sizes. He'd never realized before how wonderfully _useful_ the loudmouth could be sometimes. He'd have to make sure 'Shinichi' sent her a really great birthday present. "Sonoko-neechan's coming over?" he finally asked.

"Yes, we'll be up late studying for our classical literature exam," she replied finally catching up with Conan's pull to walk next to him.

'_Yes!_' Conan grinned happily. Sonoko being there ensured Hakuba would stay far far away for the rest of the evening. He decided he would be _much_ nicer to her from now on. For getting to see her throw her school bag at Hakuba and call him a pervert if nothing else.

They entered the third floor living room after a tight-fit squeeze since Conan was still attached to Ran's side. Ran watched him closely after he detached to slip into the restroom. She still hadn't been able to catch Shinichi on the phone to ask his opinion about Conan's behavior. Like every other day, he'd spent the whole trip home staring at everyone they had passed and looking down every alley. Although, he did seem to be in a better mood after they had left Sonoko and Hakuba. Sonoko hadn't had any real ideas about it besides thinking it was kind of cute. "Maybe I should ask Kazuha-chan…" she mumbled.

"Ask Kazuha-neechan what?" Conan asked from behind her.

Ran gasped and whirled around ready to throw her school bag. She caught herself quickly enough seeing Conan with his arms over his head bracing for a hit. They both locked eyes for a very still moment before she finally said something. "I'm so sorry Conan-kun. I guess we're both a little jumpy lately."

Conan nodded looking slightly uncomfortable. '_Please don't ask anything I can't answer,_' he begged silently. He racked his brain for something, anything, to change the subject.

"Conan-kun, are you sure there's nothing you want to…"

"I got sent to the principal's office today!" he blurted out behind a wince.

Ran stared. He hazarded a peek at her reaction. "…Conan-kun! What do you mean you were sent to the principal's office_?_! What did you do to poor Kobayashi-sensei? This is so unlike you!"

He sighed in relief to be well away from dangerous subjects and onto the relatively safe topic of his future grounding. He settled onto his pillow at the low table to pay better attention to Ran's rant. It was several minutes later before Ran allowed him to explain himself. He sat quietly waiting for her to finish reading Kobayashi-sensei's report on how he had slept through both his math and history lesson before he had been caught. Mostly because he had been asleep behind the math book during world history. She finally gave a last sigh, signing the paper and handing it back.

"Am I grounded Ran-neechan?" he asked with appropriate timidity. To be honest, the idea of being grounded at his age was a little mortifying but he almost welcomed the excuse to stay home and read, safely out of sight for a while.

"…no, not this time," Ran finally answered with a sigh. "I know how much trouble you've been having sleeping. I guess something like this was expected. I'll let your teacher know you haven't been feeling well and maybe she'll let this one time go." Ran left the table to call his school and he flopped back onto the floor once she was out of eyeshot with a sigh of his own. His nap during class had been much too short and now seemed like a great time to make up some missing sleep, especially if Sonoko would be here soon. He gave a self-amused snort wondering how many pieces she had left Hakuba in.

THUMP.

Conan opened an eye and focused on the ceiling, instantly awake and wired in a burst of adrenaline. He held his breath, willing his ears to become super-humanly sensitive. The more active parts of his imagination tried to compare the sound with any myriad of sounds a sniper would need to set up a nest.

THUMP. THUMP.

…or Gin and Vodka trying to lure him to the roof.

THUMP.

…or…

THUMP.

…wait. He narrowed his eyes at the ceiling and made for the nearest window. He pressed against it and looked up in a futile attempt to get a glimpse of anything on the roof. He, of course, could see nothing on the roof but he did see a blonde in a blue gakuran parked on a bench across the street watching the detective agency behind the pretense of reading a book. '_Persistent isn't he. Guess he got away from Sonoko._' He backed away before Hakuba could notice him even though he was pretty sure the Sonoko experience would keep him outside. He gave a last look up at the ceiling before sighing and heading for the door.

"Conan-kun, I think the neighbor's cats are fighting on the roof again," Ran called from the kitchen. "Can you go chase them off?"

"Exactly what I was planning to do," he called over his shoulder with familiar smirk. He opened the door in time to let in a surprised-in-mid-knock Sonoko and headed up the stairs to the roof access.

/

"Two bits," he called out swinging the roof door open to an empty roof.

"Knew that would work on you," a familiar voice called out over the seemingly empty roof.

"I think you make a better Roger Rabbit than me," Conan answered. "And where are you?"

"Back here." Conan rounded the corner of the rectangular stairwell entrance to find the thief sitting Indian-style on the roof surrounded by a wide circle of potato chip bags, boxes of candy and pocky, ramune bottles, and convenience store bags filled with empty wrappers and soda cans. "Hey," Kid greeted him eloquently from the center of his stash pile.

Conan raised his eyebrow at the size of the junk food pile that would have made Genta cry in happiness. He was even more surprised at the robust fullness of the four bags Kid had designated his trash bags. "How long have you been up here_?_!" he exclaimed.

"Since just before you left for school," Kid answered breaking into a packaged melon-bread.

"Why are you hiding behind the roof entrance?" Conan asked still rooted to his spot by the cement brick wall.

"Well, what I figured was, if Hakuba couldn't ply me for questions he'd probably try to chase you down." One look at Conan's annoyed expression told him everything he needed to know. "He's outside your building, huh?"

"Oh yeah," Conan muttered thumping his head back against the brick wall.

"Well I'm sure he's got the entrance covered in case you try and leave, but eventually he's going to figure out he can't see me land on your roof from the ground," the thief replied between bites. "Sooner or later, he'll make for the roof of the building opposite yours so he can see if you leave or I arrive. Not that it matters; I've been here all morning so he wouldn't see me come here." He popped the last bit of his melon bread in his mouth and dug into his candy pile for something new to munch on. "So… how'd you enjoy being on my side of a detective's interrogation?"

Conan gave a growl of frustration before dropping to a seat outside the junk food circle in an arms-crossed pout.

"That bad, huh?" Kid laughed. "So, what did you learn today?"

"What are you? My mom asking how school went?" Conan muttered, determined to hold onto his crabbiness.

"Humor me."

"You go to Ekoda High School, same as Hakuba. You have my sympathies. He said he knew how to get a hold of you which means he knows your identity or at least suspects it within reasonable doubt. You're still running around _annoying_ people so he may know who you are but he can't prove it."

"…you seem kind of irritated today," Kid commented offhandedly. He leaned to the right to dodge the brick sized package of sugar crackers aimed at his face. "Go on."

Conan planted his chin in his hand and leaned on his leg studying the thief who was casually downing pixie stix in front of him. "Hakuba acted like he knew you, really knew _you_, so I would guess you're both in the same grade, probably the same class."

"Right on all counts," the thief replied in sugar-induced merriment.

Conan stared at him, baffled at Kid's relaxed attitude towards his probing of his identity.

"What?" Kid asked finally noticing Conan's attention on him.

"So are you going to tell me who you really are now?" Conan finally asked.

"Nope." Kid held an open candy box toward him. "Jelly Belly?"

"Why not_?_!" Conan exclaimed genuinely surprised. "I mean there's not much point not to _now_. I've got enough with this that I can find out on my own, you know."

"I know." Kid swallowed a handful of pink and yellow jellybeans. "Mmm, pink lemonade. I think I'll wait 'til you figure everything out yourself. Hopefully by then, you might start trusting me a little."

Conan snorted in response.

"Now, about that walk to school this morning… are Teitan High's skirts made of velvet or some other fondle-me fabric or was that some new ploy of yours to grope your girlfriend?" the thief asked followed by a complicated series of leans and bows from his seated position to dodge Conan's new fit of candy throwing. "By my observation, you picked up that habit a little over a week ago, am I right?"

"You have no idea what's going on, so butt out!" Conan yelled.

"Sure I do," the thief replied seriously over a stick of strawberry pocky from his newly opened box. "My microphones can pick up your screaming from Ran-san's window even over Mouri-san's snoring, and that's saying something. Nightmares, huh?"

"…microphones_?_!"

"You've had one every night since _that_ night. Or at least since I started keeping an ear on you that I know of," Kid continued blithely on staring at the pocky stick he twirled between his fingers and ignoring the small detective's anger coming to a boil. "And I've noticed you don't let her out of your sight lately. She didn't get spotted by _them_ doing anything that would call attention to herself did she?" He dropped his box of pocky in shock at the two small hands that grabbed his lapels and yanked him forward inches from Conan's furious eyes. His hands rose in standard freeze-police-put-'em-up fashion beside his head automatically.

"**WHY DO YOU HAVE MICROPHONES IN RAN'S ROOM YOU DIRTY PERVERT**_**?**_**!**" Conan yelled at the thief who had the good grace to look embarrassed at Conan's implications. "Take. Them. Out. NOW!"

"Calm down, tantei-kun. I wasn't trying to peep on her or anything dirty. It just worked out that she's the only one at your place that sleeps with the window open. I was just trying to watch out for you guys," Kid defended in a rush before his teeth were power-kicked in.

Conan glared at him and searched the thief's wide eyes for any hint of a lie. "Where did you plant your bugs?" he demanded.

"No bugs. I've never been in her room, I swear," the thief answered immediately to a clearly disbelieving Conan. "Look, I'll prove it." He brought two fingers to his lips and let out a sharp whistle. Conan flinched at the noise too close to his ears but didn't let go of the thief. Kid raised a hand above his head with two fingers crooked and Conan looked up to see a rush of white feathers land with a soft coo. He let go of Kid in his distraction as the dove tilted its head and cooed cutely at him. Kid used the distraction to scoot away from the boy and bring the bird between them. "This is Snowflake. She wouldn't be here anymore if you hadn't taken care of her during the Memories Egg incident so I figured she'd like to help pay you back by looking after you guys." He swallowed thickly, a little surprised at himself that he still got emotional at the thought of how close his dove had come to dying that night.

He blinked realizing Conan was watching him with that look he often used on cases to size people up. "Umm… I actually wanted to introduce you to her tonight, that way if anything happens you have a way to reach me," he said falling back into his usual confident stride once he realized Conan was not going to kill or maim him for spying. He reached down to where he had dropped his box of pocky. "Here," he said crushing a stick in his hand and holding his closed fist to Conan until Conan obediently held his palm out to receive the crushed pocky crumbs, "She really loves strawberry pocky." He held Conan's hand steady at the wrist and brought the dove, who'd been pacing back and forth on his own fingers since he'd crushed the pocky stick, close to Conan's hand. Conan held his breath and watched the bird give an excited flutter before pecking at the frosting covered crumbs. Kid held his fingers over Conan's wrist and the dove crossed over with no further prodding for easier access to the junk food.

Conan smiled and ran his fingers over the soft feathers of the dove's back when he noticed a silvery shine on the bird's ankle. He carefully lifted his arm to get a better look at the tiny dish-shaped receiver.

"You realize I'm letting you in on one of my trade secrets," Kid joked reaching over to stroke the bird's breast feathers.

"I'll be sure to look for birds around Nakamori's planning sessions," Conan muttered.

"There's also a little lid you can open to hide messages." Kid stopped noticing the boy's pensive expression. "…I'll stop sending Snowflake over at night if it really bothers you," he added after a while.

"Nah, it's ok," Conan muttered grudgingly, "Normally, I'd tell you 'Go to hell' but I can't pretend things are completely safe right now. You can use your spy birds all you want if you _promise_ me you'll get Ran to safety if you hear things go bad here."

"Are you this rude when asking for help when you're tall?" Kid asked. "But it's a deal. Are you expecting _them_ to come after her?"

Conan looked away and down to the dove who had finished her pocky snack and was taking side steps up his arm to his shoulder where she started pecking and tugging at his hair. "They have a reputation of tying their loose ends," he finally answered. "Up 'til now, they've always kept their involvement pretty low key, and I've kept Ran's involvement off any possible radar of theirs. But this one was much too public. I really don't think this one's over."

"How deep are you?" Kid asked seriously.

"As deep as you can get," Conan sighed absently petting the dove on his shoulder.

"Well that doesn't tell me much," the thief muttered.

"Well how deep are you?" Conan countered with a guarded gaze.

"I think I've worked my way up to a 'shoot on sight' order," Kid smiled proudly. "Although the one that chases me the most is a sniper named Snake." He frowned fiercely at the name. "Ever heard of him?"

Conan shook his head. "Snake, huh? That would be from shejiu, a type of snake sake."

"Huh?"

"I haven't heard of him, but I can tell you he's one of their top assassins if he has a code name. And all their code names come from alcoholic drinks." Conan considered the thief carefully before continuing. "They only bother with named agents for major threats and those who will become major threats. What did you do?"

Kid gave him a sad pensive look from behind his monocle before answering. "There's a lot of history behind that question and it's a story for another time. Lets just say I'm after something they want."

"A jewel." Conan concluded watching the thief carefully. "Why?"

"A very specific jewel. And you wouldn't believe me if I told you," the thief answered with a wry smile.

"Have you seen me? I'm supposed to be seventeen," Conan snorted sarcastically. "I think recent changes in my life have made me a pretty open minded person."

"True," Kid said with a wry smile, "but we'd be here all night and it's getting close to bedtime for tiny detective brats."

"Oh shut-up," Conan muttered. "So did you come all this way to eat junk food on our roof all day or did you have a real reason."

"Actually, I came to pass along some interesting information. It's kind of what I came here to tell you. Guess I got distracted," the thief grinned happily. "I told you I was too far away to help you at Touto Tower, but… that helicopter crashed in an area nearby the museum. I followed some big guy built like a refrigerator. He was walking around, well more like stumbling after _his_ landing, with sunglasses in the middle of the night."

"Vodka," Conan whispered, his hand stilling in mid-pet, "Please tell me you know where he went."

"Of course. I thought you might like to take a little trip to their hideout tomorrow night," the thief announced with a touch of pride. "So… did I do good?"

"You found their hideout_?_!" Conan exclaimed with incredulity. "Let's go _now_." He jumped to his feet, startling Snowflake into flapping her wings in order to keep her balance on his shoulder.

"Hold it, shorty." Kid grabbed the edge of Conan's jacket before he rounded the corner of the stairway entrance. "If we try anything now, Hakuba will follow us."

Conan gave a growl before sitting back down. "Are you sure no one saw you?"

"Please. Have a little respect for the master. Of course I wasn't caught," Kid gloated. Conan gave an impatient huff. "And the building is not going to disappear overnight," Kid continued pointedly.

"Better not," Conan pouted. "I guess you're not telling me where it is either."

"Not a chance brat. You'll try and cut me out of it and go alone; don't think I don't know you will. I will not be left out of this. You're stuck working with me," Kid said with finality.

"Why are you doing this? Why me? I've been trying to put you in jail until now, in case you've forgotten," Conan frowned in sullen seriousness.

Kid scooted closer until he could look Conan in the eye. "Do you have any idea how long I've been fighting these guys, trying not to get killed, all on my own?" he asked at his most serious.

"Oh, is that what you were doing? I thought you were stealing jewels and making Nakamori look ridiculous, silly me," Conan retorted.

"This is serious, Kudo. You have **no idea** how hard it's been," Kid growled angrily. "If I know you, you must be miles ahead of me investigating them. I'm asking for your help Kudo."

"Will you stop calling me that in public," Conan hissed.

"We're on a roof, Kudo. I don't think Snowflake is going to tell anyone."

"Whatever. So why are _you_ after them? They shrink you too and you're actually thirty?" Conan retorted.

"They killed someone. Someone very important to me." Kid answered quietly. Conan closed his mouth abruptly. Kid met Conan's eyes with all the honest sincerity and pleading he could muster. "Murder's supposed to be you're department, right? Will you help me _now_?"

Conan averted his eyes, truly ashamed of his crabbiness until now. "I'm sorry. You've been upfront with almost all your cards and I've been…"

"Rude?"

Conan shot him an angry look that dissolved just as quickly. "I _am_ sorry. I didn't realize…"

"Don't worry, I'm starting to think it's a detective thing."

Conan snorted oddly, which may or may not have been a covered up laugh. "I can't believe I'm even considering this," he muttered to himself. Kid stayed silent in front of him waiting for the boy's decision. Conan stared at the windows of the building next door, reflecting the Mouri Detective Agency in the setting sun. He took a deep breath before continuing. "But my Dad taught me a very important lesson a long time ago." It was the phantom thief's turn to look away. "Sometimes the spirit of the law is more important than the letter of the law."

"So you'll help me?"

"It comes with conditions. I want the full story, every detail. So be ready to tell me everything," Conan answered holding his hand out.

"Deal. In return, I want to know everything you know. It's only fair," Kid countered shaking Conan's hand firmly.

"We'll iron out the details tomorrow," Conan decided.

"Fine, I'll meet you behind Teitan Elementary."

"No good. I walk Ran home after school."

"You really adore her, don't you?" Kid flinched back. "Oww! No pinching! Fine, I'll meet you at the museum at sundown. That should give you time to lose Hakuba if you need to." Conan nodded in agreement.

"Oh, and in case you need to reach me in a hurry, Snowflake is trained to fly back to me no matter where I am. You just need to send her off a certain way." He guided the dove back to Conan's fingers and moved the shrunken detective's thumb to hold the bird's feet in place. "Just give two lifts and let her fly on the third." He sat back and watched Conan expectantly.

"Why would you train her to have someone send her back to you?" Conan asked in mild curiosity.

"To pass messages after I was supposed to be asleep," he responded, watching Conan patiently.

"With who?" Conan gave him a tired sigh realizing the thief was waiting for him to try it. "Fine," he muttered and gave two half-hearted lifts of his hand and let go of the dove's feet on the third lift. He leaned his head back quickly to get out of the way of flapping wings. Snowflake, for her part, took off over the side of the building before circling around in a wide arc and landing with a demure flutter on Kid's shoulder.

"So who are you passing notes wi…"

"I KNOW YOU'RE OVER THERE, KAITOU KID!" a familiar voice shouted from the roof across the street. "I DEMAND YOU SHOW YOURSELF!"

"Told you," Kid smiled at Conan in satisfaction. Conan rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Now you know what I feel like."

"Of course he wouldn't be stalking _me_ if a certain thief hadn't dropped so many secrets where he could hear them."

"Yeah… sorry about that. I thought if you wouldn't accept my help and Hakuba heard enough, you'd let him help you in my place. I wouldn't have let him get involved if I knew _who_ you were fighting," Kid apologized.

"Well, we're still going to have to deal with him eventually," Conan sighed before a wide yawn caught him unawares.

"I think that's my cue to finish this conversation tomorrow," Kid smiled in amusement while he scooped his remaining junk food into an empty plastic bag. "Here, you'll need these for Snowflake." He handed Conan two sealed boxes of pocky.

Conan tucked the boxes into his pocket. "How are you going to leave? Hakuba's watching the building," Conan asked.

"Easy. Since he's watching the front of the building, I'll just leave from the back." Kid walked to the back of the building keeping the roof entrance between him and Hakuba's view across the street. With a graceful hop, he balanced himself on the rail around the roof and released his hang glider. "Oh, and get some sleep," Kid called before jumping over the side of the building.

"Right," Conan muttered sarcastically like Kid had just asked him to turn the sky pink. He turned around and slumped his shoulders. Kid had left behind all his trash bags. "Jerk. At least he sorted it." He gathered the bags and turned the corner of the stairwell only to shield his eyes from the shine being reflected at him. He stared across the street to the opposite roof where Hakuba was watching back from behind a pair of binoculars. They stared at each other silently over the expanse of the street between them before Conan's sleep exhausted brain had a bright idea.

He childishly stuck his tongue out at Hakuba and slammed the door behind him on his way downstairs.

* * *

Ran and Sonoko looked up from their respective notes on the ever-interesting Tale of Genji to watch Conan drag his satchel to Ran's side at the low living room table she'd dragged into her room for their study session.

"You were gone an awfully long time, Conan-kun. You couldn't catch the cats?" she asked while he pulled out a handful of worksheets.

"Nope, got away… and left a mess," he answered fighting the upturning corners of his mouth. He settled into his own homework while the girls went back to discussing essay topics.

/

"The brat didn't finish his homework," Sonoko sighed poking at Conan's forehead with her pencil. Conan scrunched his face and mumbled in his sleep where he was draped across his homework.

"Don't wake him up, Sonoko. He needs the sleep," Ran ordered flicking the pencil away.

"Please? Just one marker attack," Sonoko pleaded. Ran glared at her from across the table. "Killjoy," she muttered. Ran leaned back and pulled her afghan off the end of her bed and carefully laid it over his shoulders without waking him.

"Just leave him be, Sonoko. I don't want you stressing him out right now. He's going to get sick." Ran leaned over the table and confiscated all the markers within Sonoko's reach.

"Well, I think you spoil him too much," Sonoko huffed and grudgingly turned her attention back to her notes.

Ran brushed her hand through his hair before resting the back of her hand against his overly warm cheek. Conan leaned his head against her cool hand in his sleep and Ran was sure he had mumbled the word 'irish.' She filed the odd English word away to look up later.

/

It was a very exhausted Conan that dragged himself out of the bathroom and headed for another night of sleepless sleep. He'd nearly nodded off twice in the bath and had decided to make it the shortest bath ever before he managed to drown himself. The sooner he could fall on his futon and pass out, the happier he would be. He swung open the door to Kogoro's room with a jaw-splitting yawn that brought tears to his eyes.

He stared at his and Mouri Kogoro's room… where his futon was _supposed_ to be. After a full minute of glaring at the floor had failed to magically produce his bed, he stomped toward the restroom where Kogoro was brushing his teeth for a good solid session of whining. It had been a long day and he was _tired_.

A glance into Ran's room froze him in place in front of her doorway. His errant futon was set up alongside her bed with the sheets turned down and beckoning him to a good long sleep. A large hand dropped on his head and mussed his hair while he stood staring.

"Just get some sleep brat," a gruff voice came from above his head. Kogoro cleared his throat conspicuously and walked off to his bedroom leaving Conan in Ran's doorway. "Maybe now some of us can get some sleep around here without you screaming all night."

"Umm… thank you?" Conan called after him. He fought down his blush as he entered Ran's room and hopefully the first real sleep he'd had in what felt like a long time.

_~fin~_

/

/

AN:

"Shave and a haircut…two bits" is a seven note jingle, although it may have older origins, often used in its musical form or as a knock pattern. (knock…knock-knock…knock…knock… … knock…knock) In the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit (for those who haven't seen it), this pattern was used to force a hiding Roger to reveal himself by knocking the pattern on the wall and omitting the final two notes. This apparently drives toons insane as they can't fight the compulsion to finish the jingle. It is this author's personal belief that Kaito would definitely have seen the movie and probably has it memorized. As for Kudo, I'm sure his mother would have forced it on him… and it _was_ a detective/murder movie.

Shejiu: For the longest time, I wondered if Snake really was black org. since I couldn't think of an alcohol called Snake. The Magical Kaitou Kid manga is pretty vague too. Then I learned about snake wine, also called snake whiskey (...and can I say, eww. Though I could probably be dared into trying it if I were smashed enough. ^_^) Snake wine is a rice wine native to southeast asia, China, and Vietnam. It's made by bottling venomous snakes in the alcohol so the venom mixes in with the drink. The alcohol breaks down the venom making it safe to drink. It comes in two types: steeped (for medicinal use), and mixed (comes as a shot). I imagine Snake had the shot version in mind when he picked his name. For more info, wikipedia "Snake Wine" to learn more and for pretty pictures ^_^.

Episodes Referenced: 304 Trembling Metropolitan Police Headquarters: 12 Million Hostages, 345 Head-to-Head Match With the Black Organization; Two Mysteries of the Night of the Full Moon, 425 Black Impact! The Instant that the Black Organization Reaches

/

/

/


	3. Chapter 2 Metropolitan Police Detective

Disclaimer: not mine. Movie-verse and Anime-verse.

Summary – _For Takagi-puppy and Sato-kitty._

/

/

**~Chapter 2~ Metropolitan Police Detective Story ~**

/

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T FIND THE BODY_?_!"

The detectives of Beika-cho's homicide department cringed at the angry yelling coming from Megure-keibu's desk. Slowly but surely, detectives made their way to the door with murmurs of needing coffee or smoke breaks with the unfortunate exception of homicide team one, who's desks were directly in front of Megure's desk.

Unable to escape, Takagi and Chiba made a valiant effort to look busy and even Shiratori seemed inordinately involved in re-organizing his desk drawers. Sato was the only one who was blatantly watching the vein in Megure's forehead throb.

"You were supposed to have the autopsy done **yesterday**! And now you're telling me that the body is **missing** from the morgue_?_!" Megure slammed his fist down on his desk hard enough to make the coffee in his cup slosh over the edge. "Have you idiots even **done** the autopsy or have you forgotten about that too_?_!"

Sato kicked her partner's foot lightly under the desk. She caught his eye when he looked up and shifted her eyes to Megure without any other movement. Takagi, as always, caught her hint and started short-handing a transcript of Megure's conversation as subtly as possible. Satisfied that her partner was paying close attention to the conversation she went back to listening and committing information to memory.

Megure had been in a black mood for the last few days after various files for the attack on the tower had gone missing. Then his acquisition forms to transport the remains of the helicopter from evidence to forensics had gotten lost… twice. And now it seemed the body of the foreigner Conan had led them to was missing from the morgue. It was starting to look like the only reliable evidence from a case involving so many high-ranking detectives was going to be their own testimonies. Sato felt a cover-up slowly working its way down the pipes and it left a bad taste.

"IDIOTS!" Megure slammed the phone back in its cradle and rounded on his team for a full session of heated shouting about the progress of the case when the doors of the homicide precinct swung open hard banging the walls loudly. His team winced, wondering who was insane enough to approach Megure when he was barely holding his temper together as it was. They rushed to their feet respectfully when they realized just who had walked in.

"Matsumoto-keishi, I suppose this isn't a social call," Megure challenged, glaring at the intimidating solidarity of the police superintendent flanked by officials.

For a moment, Mastumoto's eyes softened sadly at his subordinate before closing and the look was gone. "No, it's not," he answered darkly. "As of this moment, all investigating pertaining to the attack on Touto Tower and events prior has been deemed classified," Matsumoto-keishi announced. "I must ask that all detectives hand in any and all relevant reports, research, and data files." The two officials with him held out large boxes and began making their way down the aisles of desks.

Takagi locked eyes with Sato across his desk and gulped at the burning anger in her eyes. She began pulling folders from her drawers and slamming them on her desk none too gently. He followed suit much more hesitantly.

"Megure-keibu, I really must protest this course of action," Shiratori protested, making no attempt to gather his own materials. "This is _our_ investigation; we were the first on the scene. And I don't see how an event so public can be written off as classified."

"Noted, Shiratori-kun," Megure answered, never dropping his glare at Matsumoto. "I will go on record protesting this as well. I thought surely you of all people would want us to get to the bottom of this case, Kiyonaga-kun."

"I'm sorry it's come to this," Matsumoto answered evenly. "Nevertheless, this order comes from above and you _will_ all comply."

With a final sigh, Shiratori began clearing files out of his desk. Chiba dumped his own pile of folders in the box. "Your police notebook too," the official holding the box ordered roughly. The detectives of homicide team one looked up in surprised unison at that, exchanging looks ranging from confusion to outright anger.

"But I have information for other cases there," Chiba protested.

"Megure-keibu, this really is too much," Shiratori agreed. Takagi looked to Sato for her reaction and caught the flash of righteous determination in her eyes before her face went oddly blank.

"Do as they say, Chiba-kun," Megure ordered in a steely tone the detectives rarely heard. Reluctantly, and with an expression like he had been asked to give away a cherished pet, Chiba dropped his police notebook into the box and sat down sadly where he could no longer look at the box. Shiratori all but threw his stack of paperwork into the box of the official on his side of the desks in a rare display of emotionalism. The official holding the box had to take a few steps forward not to overbalance from the force of Shiratori's action. Takagi was actually shocked when Sato demurely placed her organized stack in the box.

"Your police notebook," the non-descript official demanded.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Sato answered with a charming smile. "Takagi-kun and I only stopped in to get some coffee and a few things done before we leave again. I left mine in the car. If you like, I can go get it for you right now." The other members of team one stared at Sato in surprise for making such a rookie mistake. Shiratori flashed a look at Takagi for his reaction. Takagi, for his part was caught off guard that Sato would dare make such a blatant lie in the face of such high-ranking superiors.

"Sato-kun, as a senior member of the force, you should know to keep your notebook on you at all times," Megure scolded.

Matsumoto stared down at Sato with sharp searching eyes. "…I see," he finally said. "And I suppose your partner left his there as well?"

Takagi burned with a heavy blush feeling the eyes of most of the room fall on him at the implication that any of his belongings dare be left among Sato's. "Ah… y-yes, I did," he stuttered under Shiratori's sharp glare.

"Well, go and get them," Megure ordered gruffly, directing his angry glare back to Matsumoto, "And be quick about it."

"Yes sir," Sato answered sounding almost chipper before rounding her desk to Takagi's side of the aisle and hooking her arm through his. "Come on, Takagi-kun, let's go." She hauled him after her leaving a contemplative Shiratori in her wake and Takagi's paperwork for someone else to turn in. The two men collecting reports exchanged looks and one followed Sato and Takagi out the door.

* * *

"Well, here you go," Sato smiled at the man sweetly; dropping two notebooks she had just pulled out of the glove compartment into the box. The official left grumbling about unprofessional detectives and not being paid to walk all over parking garages for two lousy notebooks.

Takagi observed Sato's hawk-glare at the man and kept silent besides her waiting until they saw him disappear into the parking garage elevator. "Why did you have extra police notebooks?" Takagi asked in hushed voice after their shadow had left.

"Shh," Sato hissed, giving a policeman's appraising search of the parking garage before walking around the car and slipping into the passenger's seat. Takagi took the hint and got in the car after her. He was about to turn on the car out of sheer habit when her hand on his stopped him.

"I've had the strangest feeling for a few days now that someone has been in my desk," she finally explained still keeping a watch for anyone coming. "So I thought it would be a good idea to start making backups of things important to the investigation, just in case. I made a copy of yours too. I tried to copy your handwriting as best I could."

Takagi unconsciously put a hand to his breast pocket over his notebook. "This means we're the only ones who still have our investigation notes," he mused.

"Takagi-kun, we're both violating direct orders now." Sato gave him a hard look. "If we keep investigating, and we're caught, it won't be a demotion this time. We could get fired over this. You don't _have _to follow me down this path."

Takagi's hands worried at the steering wheel while he considered his words. "Sato-san… do you believe… I mean, do you consider me… your partner?"

Sato's blinked at the sudden off-topic question. "Of course I do, Takagi-kun. I've always thought of us as partners."

"Then… you never need to ask me whether or not I'll follow you on a case." Takagi was almost talking _to_ his hands gripping the wheel tightly. "No matter how dangerous it might be, or if all you have is a hunch or bad feeling…" He stopped his ramble when her slender hand covered his left and squeezed his hand fiercely. He chanced a glance her way to find her nearly as red as he was and staring intently somewhere around her knees.

"Thank you," she answered softly before they lapsed into a comfortable silence, in which he released his death grip on the steering wheel to better hold hers.

A soft ding from across the parking garage was the only warning Takagi heard before Sato gave a hard pull on his hand forcing him down across the front seats. She slid down into the foot space of her own seat. "Sato-sa…" Her hand clapped across his mouth before he could finish and the echoing footsteps in the empty parking lot answered his question for him. After a quick meeting of eyes, they both cautiously raised themselves to peek over the dashboard.

Matsumoto stood behind his two aides while they loaded boxes confiscated from evidence lockup into the trunk of a black sedan along with the recently confiscated paperwork. "If we're quite done here, I'd like to return to my office and get some _honest_ work done today. I'll leave the rest of this distasteful affair to you," Matsumoto positively seethed.

"Of course, Matsumoto-keishi," one of the men replied in a tone that could almost be described as derisive. "The commissioner's office _thanks_ you for your help today. Just remember not to stray too far from your leash." The two detectives in hiding couldn't help but notice Matsumoto's fists clench at his sides and the flex of his jaw before he turned on his heels and made for the elevator.

Sato motioned for Takagi to duck back down below the dashboard where they waited for both Matsumoto and the black sedan to leave. "What in the world is going on with this case?" Takagi wondered, hearing the car turn the corner. He righted himself to give Sato room to climb back into her seat.

"Whatever it is, I'd rather talk about it somewhere no one will see us," Sato replied, giving the empty garage a scrutinizing glare. "Just drive us somewhere. Get us away from here for a while."

Takagi obediently turned the engine and left the police station parking garage behind them. He glanced in the rearview mirror when a loud engine rev echoed off the concrete walls from an unfamiliar motorcycle pulling out of a parking space as they exited the building onto the street.

"Do you think there's any chance we can get copies of the news footage from that night," Sato asked in a low voice once the police station was out of sight. "I know most of the news crews on scene for the 8:00 live taping stayed late to film exterior shots for the 10:00 news."

"Megure-keibu collected all footage taken that night and entered it in evidence. I was going to start checking it this afternoon," Takagi answered back with a tensing in his jaw.

"Damn, that means it's all been confiscated." Sato bit a nail angrily. "We'll have to rely on eyewitnesses then."

"Our best bet is to speak with Kudo-kun," Takagi told her. "According to Ran-san, he was the last person standing after she fainted." He bit back a grin at Sato's slight twitch. It never ceased to amaze him that someone as strong as Sato could be unnerved by the young detective.

"Don't forget, Conan-kun was there too," Sato shot back defensively with a sideways glance. "We'll have a much easier time speaking with him than Kudo-kun."

"I thought Ran-san said Conan-kun got away just before Kudo-kun showed up?" Takagi mused.

"Can you really see that child running away from anything? Especially if Ran-chan is involved," Sato replied with reckless pride at Conan's talent for finding… and handling dangerous situations. "He must have seen _something_." She bit another nail staring unfocused at the dashboard thinking back on Conan's recent habit of avoiding the two of them. "In fact I'm _sure_ he saw everything that happened that night."

Takagi watched her worry at her nails pensively until the green light forced his attention back to the road. "If that's where you want to start, then let's go," Takagi said turning the squad car toward the Beika-cho school district. "The elementary schools should be letting out soon."

"Alright," Sato answered resting her hand on the notebook in her pocket.

* * *

"Ah, Ayumi-chan," Takagi called to the child leaving the elementary school gates. "Have you seen Conan-kun? We need to talk to him."

"Takagi-keiji, Sato-keiji, what are you doing here?" Mitsuhiko asked rounding the gate. The three Shonen Tantei gathered around the detectives' car and a quiet Ai leaned against the school's fence watching over them.

"We were hoping to speak with Conan-kun," Sato told them leaning over Takagi to better see the children. Takagi flushed lightly and leaned back as far as he could in his seat before parts of Sato better left out of his imagination in the presence of small children could make accidental contact.

"Is Conan-kun in more trouble?" Ayumi asked innocently.

An unladylike snort came from Ai's direction but her face was impassive when Takagi glanced her way. He looked away before Ai noticed his scrutiny. The quiet girl could be more unnerving than Conan in her own way.

"Is Conan-kun in trouble?" Sato worried.

"Yeah! He was sent to the principal's office," Genta announced loudly. "He's gonna get grounded for sure."

"Uh-huh, Ran-san will definitely be angry with him," Mitsuhiko nodded sagely.

"Do you think Ran-san will yell at him?" Ayumi wondered aloud fearfully. "Ran-san is so nice but I don't think I'd want to make her angry."

"You don't think Ran-san will punish him with her karate?" Genta asked. From the car Sato covered her mouth at the giggle she bit back watching Conan's friends' worry.

Takagi, however, followed their conversation with serious attentiveness the moment they had mentioned Conan being in trouble. In all the time he'd known the strange child, he had never caused trouble or mischief beyond crawling around investigation sites. Of course, a child as smart as Conan could probably be quite the hellion if he chose to be. "What did Conan-kun do?" Takagi asked with a trepidation that matched the Shonen Tantei's concern. He leaned out the car window to better hear the children's conversation quite forgetting he was now pressing against Sato for window access.

"He slept through class," Ayumi whispered to him, her wide eyes completely scandalized.

"That's all_?_! I've done much worse things than that to be sent to the principal's office," Sato exclaimed. "Your teacher must be strict." The Shonen Tantei stared wide-eyed at Sato while her words caught up to her.

"Sato-keiji, you were sent to the principal's office?" Mitsuhiko finally ventured after the awkward silence. "And they still let you be a police officer?"

"Umm… It's nothing important, and that was a long time ago," Sato laughed in an embarrassed rush, "Anyway we do need to speak with Conan-kun right away, right Takagi-kun?" She pleaded silently for a bail out.

"Th-That's right," he responded quickly, fighting the blush from having her so close with such a cute unguarded expression in her eyes. "S-so if you haven't seen him, I guess we'll be…"

"He went to pick up Mouri-san from school," Ai piped up in her sotto voice. "If you hurry, you might catch up with him." She pushed off the wall and started for home. Mitsuhiko ran to catch up with her trailing Genta and Ayumi behind him.

"Bye Sato-keiji, Takagi-keiji," Ayumi called over her shoulder.

Sato waved after her before sliding back to her seat and off Takagi's lap. Takagi pulled away from the school and turned to head towards Teitan High School with occasional glances Sato's way. Sato leaned her head on her arm and watched him watching her out of the corner of her eye before giving an irritated huff. "What_?_!" she finally rounded on him.

"Ah… Uh… W-Why were _you_ sent to the principals office?" Takagi stuttered at her cross look.

"Oh that?" Sato's eyes widened in surprise. Frankly, she had been expecting him to say something about her leaning across him the way he had tensed. "I may have, sort of, beat up a few bullies in elementary… and middle school."

Takagi chuckled. "_You_ were in trouble for fighting?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, something wrong with that?" Sato challenged and not without a bit of pride. Takagi shook his head, quickly focusing his attention back on the road "Good. Besides those jerks had it coming," she pouted, settling back into the passenger's seat and ignoring her burning flush. "If you tell anyone back at the office I will shoot you and hide the body where even Kudo-kun can't find it," she added as an afterthought.

"Understood, Sato-san," Takagi answered catching the ghost of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth, his own boyish smile spread across his face at the idea of sharing Sato's secret.

/

Minutes later, the silver skyline pulled to a stop in front of Teitan High. "Isn't that Sonoko-chan?" Takagi asked staring into the school courtyard.

Sato leaned over him again to see the animate girl clinging onto the arm of a blonde-haired boy in an unfamiliar school uniform. "I thought Ran-chan told me she already had a boyfriend," she mused softly.

"Ah, she does, his name's Makoto-san," Takagi whispered back. Sato grinned cheekily up at him from her perch across his lap. She could always count on her partner for the latest gossip of the going-ons in the Mouri family circle. The two watched from their rather conspicuous position in the squad car as the blonde-haired boy attempted to pull himself free of Sonoko's cling without being overly rude. It was quite obvious to the two spies that the boy was very uncomfortable and trying to get away from the overly exuberant girl. The breeze carried unintelligible murmurs of their conversation and Takagi strained his ears to catch the occasional 'Kid-sama' coming from Sonoko.

"Isn't that Hakuba-keisou's son?" Sato finally asked squinting at the blonde boy.

"Ah, no wonder," Takagi mused with a pitying laugh. Sonoko's obsession for Kaitou Kid was as famous as Commissioner Hakuba's son's if Nakamori's complaints were to be believed. "Do you think we should rescue him?" He glanced down at Sato to see her actually mulling it over seriously.

"…do you think he's actually met Kaitou Kid?" Sato asked eyeing Hakuba seriously.

"…riiight." Takagi chided himself for forgetting Sato was also a Kaitou Kid fan.

"Ahh! Sato-keiji!" Sonoko called from the schoolyard waving merrily. Hakuba took the opportunity to finally dislodge her from his arm and beat a hasty retreat that was _not_ running away… exactly. "Aww, you made me lose him," Sonoko whined at the two detectives while she made her way to the squad car. "I had more questions about Kid-sama to ask him."

"Sorry about that," Sato apologized through her grin, "We were wondering if you had seen Conan-kun or Ran-chan."

"You just missed them by a few minutes." Sonoko crooked an arm on the roof of the car above the window and leaned down to better see them both. "They should be home soon if it's really important. Is it about a case? Are you looking for Ran or the brat?"

"Both, actually," Takagi told her in hushed conspiratorial voice. "And Kudo-kun, if we can, too."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Sonoko retorted sarcastically. "If even Ran can barely catch that wandering husband of hers I seriously doubt you two can." The two detectives blinked at the high school girl's frank assessment. "As for the matched set, where you find one you'll find the other. The kid's been attached to Ran's skirts ever since they got hurt that night. He's gotten really weird about things."

"Eh? Really?" Takagi mused, eyebrows furrowed in thought. "That's not like him." For such a young child, Conan tended to be rather prickly about close contact.

"It would actually be pretty adorable if we were talking about a normal kid," Sonoko continued. "He was practically hiding behind Ran's legs fifteen minutes ago."

"Really_?_!" Sato laughed, "I've got to see that."

Takagi frowned thoughtfully while Sato enjoyed her mental theatre over Conan's antics. "You say he's been acting strange since when?" Takagi asked casually while his hands tightened on the steering wheel. Sato caught the edge in his tone and brought her attention back in focus.

"You know, ever since _that_ night," Sonoko stage whispered. "Though I don't know what's the big deal about not talking about it."

"We really shouldn't let the public or media find out minors were involved in such a high profile case," Sato replied in a placating voice. "Besides, it would bring Ran-chan and Mouri-san too much unwanted attention."

"I guess," Sonoko pouted. "I also hear the pipsqueak's been having a lot of nightmares."

"Oh," Sato responded noticing Takagi was taking notes quietly.

"Ran thinks something scared him," she explained checking her watch. "I need to get going, Ran's waiting for me. I can have her call you when I get to her place, " Sonoko offered. "We're studying for a test tonight so we'll both be up late if you need to speak with her."

"No, that's all right, Sonoko-chan," Sato smiled. "We shouldn't bother you two the night before an exam. We'll just catch her tomorrow." Sonoko gave the detectives a wave and started on her way.

The two watched her go before Takagi turned to Sato. "I think we need to speak with Conan-kun," he said seriously.

Sato nodded in agreement. "It sounds like he may be able to help us. We _have_ to catch them tomorrow. For now, lets just go back. Maybe Megure-keibu has some way to reach Kudo-kun."

"What excuse are you going to make for needing the information," Takagi asked offhandedly.

"What excuse," Sato tossed him a shark-like grin. "We'll just stay working late until he goes home and search his desk."

"S-Sato-san," Takagi worried shakily before giving a slumping sigh over the steering wheel.

"Don't be such a worrywart," Sato grinned, "No one will ever know."

Takagi shifted the car in gear with another sigh over his future employment status and started back to the station. A quick glance at his rearview made him frown when he noticed a vaguely familiar motorcycle turn from a street beside the high school and leave in the opposite direction.

* * *

"Tomorrow we'll just have to get to the high school quickly so we can wait for those two," Sato whispered in an aside to Takagi as they walked through the police department's corridors.

"It might also help to speak with Conan-kun alone," Takagi quietly answered back. He thought back to Conan's odd tendency to speak more maturely and confidently of his opinions when Ran wasn't around to see him. He was so lost in his memories of Conan's age difference in behavior he nearly ran into Sato's back when she suddenly stopped outside the Division One doorway. He glanced around her to see Shiratori leaning against one of the double doors looking for all the world like he had been waiting there since they had left mid-afternoon.

"So… the two who ran away while this department was turned upside down have returned," Shiratori muttered darkly. "Care to explain what you two were doing?"

"Shiratori-kun," Sato smiled while she slipped around him to the door, "What ever are you talking about? I did mention Takagi-kun and I had errands to run." She shot Takagi a sharp look before disappearing into the squad room. Takagi gulped as he was left alone in the hallway with Shiratori.

"Now, what were you really doing?" Shiratori glared down at him with that particular look in his eyes that always made Takagi feel two feet tall. "I already know the two of you lied about your police notebooks."

Takagi glanced around the empty hallways frantically. "Shiratori-san! Shh!" he hissed in a quiet frantic voice. "We shouldn't discuss these things where someone might hear."

Shiratori's eyes widened before narrowing as he came to realization. "You two are continuing your investigation." Takagi's startled guilty expression was all the confirmation he needed. He gripped Takagi's arm fiercely. "Are you two trying to get fired_?_!" he dropped his voice and gave the hallway a searching glance of his own. "Look, it's not as if I don't agree, but you _will_ lose your jobs if anyone finds out," Shiratori warned.

"Well someone sure will if you keep asking about it in the middle of the police department," Takagi boldly hissed back.

Shiratori let go of him with a deep sigh. "Takagi-kun, if you let her get hurt…" Shiratori let the threat hang and glared at him expectantly.

"I won't let that happen," Takagi answered meeting Shiratori's challenging stare.

Shiratori held his gaze before finally letting it drop with his usually smirk. "I'll hold you to that, Takagi-kun." He pushed off from his stance at the door and started down the hall. "I'll stay out of it for now, because that's what she wants. But I _will_ be keeping my eye on the two of you."

Takagi slouched with a relieved sigh once Shiratori was out of earshot. "Sorry… Shiratori-san," he whispered to the back growing smaller and smaller down the hall before following Sato into the squad room.

/

Takagi ignored the glares of his fellow colleagues with a well-practiced oblivion and made his way to his desk. Sato was already seated and working on reports as though they had never left. She spared him a private glance and quirk of a questioning eyebrow. He responded with a slight shake of his head. There really was no need to worry her with the knowledge that Shiratori was already onto them.

Satisfied, Sato turned back to her paperwork. Takagi was settling himself in his chair when he was struck with a strange unsettled feeling. A careful exploration of his desk later and he knew what was wrong. The notepad he had been notating Megure's phone call that afternoon was missing. On a hunch, he pulled open a drawer and started searching for the notes he'd made from earlier phone calls that week.

Sato glanced up at his hurried movements in curiosity. She slid her foot under the desk until she made contact with his. Brought out of his headspace, he shut his drawer and gave her a lighthearted smile after which she went back to work.

Someone must have lumped the notepad together with the paperwork being confiscated was all he could conclude. It did make him worry that someone had gone through his desk looking for the rest, but things not pertinent to cases going missing from his desk wasn't all that strange. He spared a frustrated look over his shoulder at some of the more 'passionate' members of the Sato fan club. Nothing he had ever tried had gotten them to return his things before, so it was with a long suffering sigh that he started penning down the transcripts from memory.

_~fin~_

/

/

AN:

Ah,Takagi-puppy and Sato-kitty, my favorite detectives. I've followed you two through the years (and detective love stories) and dealt with the tease that was episode 304 and the 200+ eps it took for you two to actually get anywhere. I DEMAND GRANDCHILDREN! (Kidnapping and adopting Conan still counts.)

My apologies for this coming out so late. I've been _**very**_sick since almost New Year's and haven't been able to do much of anything except_**be**_sick (about four to five times a day _) and am horribly behind in my writing. I've been trying to keep a two-chapter buffer between what I post and what I'm working on but it's been so long, I broke down. Sorry this one is short but this will probably be the last short chapter I write until this one's over. (It doesn't help my work speed that I write out of order either. I got distracted writing a scene for chapter 18 and then chapter 6 when I should be working on chapter 5. ^_^() )

Eps referenced this chapter: 240-241 The Bullet Train Transport Case pt1-2, 523 What She Really Wants to Ask. Third ep in an arc that starts on 521.

Movie 13: Did anyone else find the cut after Conan and Vermouth were in the mall parking lot strange? For some reason Agasa picks him up at night at a shrine and Ai seems to suggest he was there meeting Vermouth. I feel like I've been denied a really important scene by the editing department.

For Mikayasha: the instances of Snake are as follows:

Magical Kaitou Kid vol.1 file1 – Jii mentions the killers (plural) that murdered Toichi but no names are given.

Magical Kaitou Kid vol 3 file7 – the infamous Blue Birthday heist and Snake's first true appearance. He shoots Kaitou Kid in the heart (no worries, he got better) and Kid learns about Pandora and the organization looking for it. (my zip lists this as chapter 6. hmm?)

Magical Kaitou Kid vol4 file2 – the Red Tear heist. Snake shoots Kaitou Kid in the arm. Kid causes Snake to fall out a window. (I'm sure the bastard was fine) This is the wound I have Kid show Conan in chapter one. In all these instances, the police are not around to witness Snake's trying to kill Kid (but there were civilian witnesses in the Red Tear heist).

/

/

/

* * *

To: Base # xxx

From Agent: xxxxxxxx

Time: 2100 hrs

Summary: Cleanup efforts continuing on schedule. Hardware disposal confirmed. Paper trail 88% retrieved. John Doe scheduled for cremation at 0400 tomorrow.

Information retrieval from Gunma, Saitama, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, and Nagano PD underway.

Estimate usefulness of Hostage Prime at one week pending full information retrieval from Beika PD. Continued cooperation expected. Continuing surveillance of secondary hostages. Secondary hostages still unawares, operation successful. However, suggest bugs be planted in home and workplace of secondary hostages.

Search for target(s) who initially released Hostage Prime continuing.

Search for target(s) who initiated return fire on our bird continuing.

End of report.

* * *

/

/

/


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer – not mine. Movie-verse and Anime-verse.

/

/

**Chapter 3**

/

It was two in the morning and like every night for the last week and a half, Ran lay awake in bed facing the wall with her ears pealed waiting, just waiting for the inevitable sound of Conan having another nightmare. Tonight was much easier in that the sounds weren't coming from her father's room. Sure enough, a soft desperate whimpering started from just over the edge of the bed.

This time, instead of waiting for Conan to wake up screaming and come bursting into her room to sleep on her floor, she quietly slipped out of bed and lifted him from his futon as carefully as she could without waking him and set him down in her bed before climbing in after him. Like most nights after nightmares, he sighed in his sleep and latched onto a fistful of her hair and settled into the stillness of deep sleep.

She sighed worriedly and finally allowed herself to fall asleep.

* * *

When Conan woke up the next morning, it was in a lavender-scented confusion of tangled sheets. He was fairly sure he hadn't had a nightmare that night, or if he had he couldn't remember it, yet he had still woken up in Ran's bed. Although for a full night's sleep, he certainly didn't feel any better than yesterday. In fact, he felt twice as sluggish. And for the middle of September, Ran's room felt awfully chilly. He gathered the bed sheets around him and over his head in a miserable shivering huddle. Moving around also made him aware of the deep tickle in the back of his throat he could feel deep in his ears. He was still sitting in bed wrapped in sheets staring blearily around the room when Ran walked in ten minutes later.

"Conan-kun, are you ready for breakfast?" She paused in the doorway with a frown when she noticed his exhaustion-shadowed eyes shift to stare blankly at her. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked walking up quietly with a hand raised, aiming for his forehead.

Conan's eyes went wide when he finally noticed her and he nearly fell flat on his face jumping out of bed while wrapped in so many sheets. "I'm sorry, Ran-neechan. I was spaced out, I'll go get changed now," he called in a rush while dashing for Kogoro's room before she could suggest walking to school without him.

"Umm… okay," Ran murmured after him. With a sigh, she set about making her bed.

/

Ran watched him with worry the entire walk to school. Unlike the last several days, it seemed like he was holding onto her skirt more to keep himself upright than out of habit. The proof was that she needed to hike her skirt up several times before reaching the high school's gates. "Are you sure you're alright, Conan-kun? I can still call Kobayashi-sensei if you want to go back home," Ran fretted reaching for his forehead again.

"I promise I'll be fine, Ran-neechan," Conan insisted brushing her hand away before it connected. "Wait for me when you get out of class," he tossed over his shoulder sprinting for school.

* * *

"Hey, are you going for a record of making Kobayashi-sensei angry twice in a row?" Ai whispered in a hushed voice during kanji class. Conan's lack of response from where he had his head buried in his crossed arms on his desk led her to poke the back of his head with a pencil… with the point end when he didn't so much as twitch after the fourth poke. "Fine, Edogawa-kun. Don't blame me when you get caught, again."

She hedged as far away as she could in her seat when their teacher started making her way down the columns of desks to inspect the students' work. While most of the class was nearly through their second handout of worksheets, Conan hadn't even managed to finish writing his name before falling fast asleep at his desk again and was earning plenty of worried looks from the rest of the Shonen Tantei around him who were so helpfully trying to wake him by throwing anything from small erasers and broken bits of crayon, Ayumi and Mitsuhiko, to large paper balls, Genta, at his chair or the back of his head before their teacher made her way to their side of the classroom. Ai wasn't sure if she was impressed or disturbed that Conan didn't even twitch.

If the children's antics hadn't drawn Kobayashi-sensei's attention before, their groans and whines of dismay when she started down their row certainly did. Her eyes fell straight to the sleeping boy but instead of yesterday's angry tirade, she crept up quietly and rested the back of her hand against his cheek for a few minutes then silently made her way back to her desk.

Ai caught Ayumi and Mitsuhiko giving her a questioning look. She offered a shrug back and gave Conan a thoughtful look before reaching her own hand to his face. Her eyes widened in understanding and she returned to her work.

From behind her desk, Kobayashi Sumiko pulled out her cell phone and dialed the Mouri Detective Agency number before stepping out into the hall.

/

It was thirty minutes later, when Mouri Kogoro showed up at the elementary school to sign Conan out for the day. Kobayashi helped him settle the still soundly sleeping child on his back. When he floundered for a way to balance Conan and hold Conan's backpack, he gratefully accepted Ayumi's offer to bring it by after school.

The entire walk home went fairly quietly. Even through his overcoat, Kogoro could feel the unnatural warmth radiating from his ward. "Come on, brat. I need you to get it together," he grumbled starting up the stairs of their building. "I'm going to be very angry with you if you keep worrying Ran like this." Conan mumbled incoherently from his back while he let them into the third floor apartment. "Alright kid, we have a deal. I'll hold you to it." He stopped for a moment at Ran's door eyeing the neatly folded futon in the corner of the room and the much higher and easily accessible bed. With a sigh he sat himself on the bed rather than make a reach for the futon far below on the floor. He carefully let Conan slide down his back to Ran's bed and pulled her throw from the foot of her bed up and over the boy who had instinctively reached for Ran's pillow and curled around it hugging it tightly.

He sat watching the child who'd been living with them for the better part of a year and ran a hand through his hair before disappearing to the bathroom in search of the child's thermometer Ran kept in the first aid kit. He came back and blinked where Conan's feet were poking out from under the blanket. He had forgotten Conan's shoes as evidenced by the school scuffs staring him in the face. "Of course," he grumbled bending over the bed to stick the device in Conan's ear. He glared at the digital display reading 38.5C and shifted his glare to Conan. "I thought we had a deal," he grumped.

Despite his grumpy words, he pulled Conan's scuffs off gently and tucked his feet under the blanket. A few minutes later and he had left a glass of water with the bottle of children's Tylenol on Ran's nightstand and a note before heading back down to his office.

* * *

Conan started from his nap after hearing the front door slam. He groaned at the noisy chattering of small children making their way through the apartment. A dizzy glance around the room confirmed that he was indeed no longer at school and his school scuffs scattered across Ran's floor gave him a good idea of who had brought him home. It took Genta's stomping around for him to realize he had a pounding headache and his first attempt to yell 'shut up' that his dry throat was burning horribly. He settled for covering his ears with his hands and waiting for the others to find him.

Ayumi was the first to find him, hesitantly opening Ran's door after a timid knock. Ai followed after opening the door wide and pushing a shy Ayumi ahead of her. "Conan-kun? Are you awake?" she whispered quietly to the blanket covered huddle on Ran's bed.

Conan uncovered his face just enough to glare balefully at them. "No," he croaked over his sore throat before covering himself up again.

Ai stepped up to the bed and flicked him where she supposed his ear might be. "Get up, we brought your things…" she moved away quickly to sidestep the flung pillow, "…and you have company."

Conan threw the blanket back to exchange choice words with Ai for her treatment of sick people when Mitsuhiko and Genta finally made it into the room holding onto the hands of a blonde-haired teenager. Conan's eyes widened in shock staring at Hakuba standing in the middle of Ran's room still managing to hold a haughty I've-got-you-trapped look with two small enthusiastic children hanging from his hands.

"Sensei let us out ten minutes early so we could bring you your things and we found Hakuba-niisan outside the detective agency," Mitsuhiko supplied helpfully. "He said he was a friend of yours and that he came to see you."

"Yeah, he was waiting for you to come home from school," Genta joined in. "He would have waited forever out there if we hadn't told him you were already home."

"Great," Conan frowned, glaring up at Hakuba.

Ai noted the less than pleased expression on Conan's face and shot him a tense questioning look. Conan shook his head almost imperceptively at her fully aware that Hakuba was closely following the exchange.

"Are you still feeling sick Conan-kun?" Ayumi asked softly while half hiding behind Ai after his recent glare at her.

After seeing that he was still glare-locked with Hakuba, Ai stepped in and started herding the children for the door. "Edogawa-kun's not going to get well unless he rests. We should all be going. And I'm sure Hakuba-san won't do anything to stress a _sick child_," she shot over her shoulder giving the person in question an icy-glare. Hakuba met her with a cool look of his own and watched the children file out of the bedroom.

Alone with Hakuba, Conan watched him with a carefully blank wide-eyed face while Hakuba pulled Ran's chair from her desk and parked himself blocking the door and his one escape route from the room. "Don't bother," Hakuba smirked noting Conan's expression. "I spend a lot of time with someone much better at faking innocent than you."

"So I hear," Conan replied letting his annoyance creep back into his voice.

"You're playing a dangerous game involving yourself with that criminal," Hakuba frowned. "After last night, you can hardly deny it. By all rights, I should have you taken in for questioning."

"So why haven't you," Conan asked, carefully watching Hakuba cross his arms thoughtfully. He didn't dare let himself look anything but calm and collected while the British detective watched him so carefully.

"I know you, Edogawa-kun. Or at least I'd like to think I do. And I've followed your involvement with Kaitou Kid cases closely. You've always gone above and beyond to catch that annoyance," Hakuba watched him seriously. Conan tried not to twitch and was definitely _not_ thinking about maid costumes. "Or am I wrong about that too?" Hakuba asked crossly.

Conan sighed and dropped his head into his hand leaning on a knee of his crossed legs. "In my defense, we were saving a puppy."

"So working with criminals isn't a new thing for you." Hakuba pulled his chair up to the edge of the bed and leaned uncomfortably close. "What are you into that makes the thief think he needs to protect you and would make you even _consider_ accepting his help?"

"I've got a question for _you_," Conan shot back refusing to flinch away from Hakuba. "Aside from Scorpion and that armored car robbery, there's _no_ other official record of anyone trying to kill Kaitou Kid. So who shot him in the arm?"

"What are you talking about?" Hakuba reared back in shock. "I would certainly know if Ku… if Kaitou Kid had ever been shot. Are you sure about your facts?"

Conan narrowed his eyes at the implied insult. "I know a gunshot wound when I see one."

"You should know better than to take anything that thief says at face value. It could have been a trick of his, a disguise, to gain your confidence. After all, you didn't try all that hard to escape him or catch him at the museum." Hakuba warned with open suspicion.

"**I** **KNOW** **PLENTY more about who and what's going on than YOU do**," Conan all but yelled in anger, his hands clenching the blanket in tight fists. "And if I'm right, frankly he's lucky he's still alive! So forgive me if I care a little bit more about saving lives than playing cops and robbers!"

Hakuba blinked at the child's angry sarcasm. "If someone really is after Kaitou Kid's life, of course that would take precedence. And you have an obligation to bring that information to the proper authorities like Nakamori-keibu or your Megure-keibu."

"What _I_ do is none of your business. And if you knew what was good for you, you'd butt out," Conan glared back. "You'll live a lot longer."

"I would think you know enough about me by now to know I most certainly _won't_. And you really shouldn't demean yourself by resorting to threats," Hakuba met his glare evenly. "I guess by your strong reaction yesterday that this has to do with that 'Black Org.' you two were speaking about in the museum… and please refrain from finding any cars to run in front of."

"I'm only going to tell you this once," Conan spoke quietly with an icy chill in his voice, "don't **ever** speak that name in public, not even to the police. Don't make or leave any evidence that you even know the name at all." That said, he disentangled himself from the blanket and slid off the bed where he took a few shaky steps before needing to lean on the bed's footboard to balance himself.

"And where exactly do you think you're going?" Hakuba asked watching him recover his equilibrium. "I still have questions to ask you."

"I'm late picking up Ran from school," Conan muttered giving his blue blazer a few yanks to straighten out any wrinkles. "Not that _you_ need to know," he added under his breath on his way around Hakuba to the door.

"Are you sure you should be going out? I thought you were sick," Hakuba asked, noting the glass of water and untouched bottle of medicine by the bed.

"I'm perfectly fine," Conan responded testily marching out of the bedroom.

"Really? Then maybe I'll join you then. After all, I scarcely had time to say hello properly yesterday," Hakuba smiled returning his chair to Ran's desk. His attention strayed to a small silver framed photo on her desk.

"Sure. Do that," Conan called back from the living room where he was hunting down a missing shoe from wherever someone, probably Genta, had tossed them upon entering the apartment. "I'm sure Sonoko-neechan still has _loads_ of questions to ask you."

Hakuba finally followed him into the living room looking surprisingly blank. "On second thought, it'll have to wait for another time." Conan smirked victoriously and held the door open for the teen. Hakuba stopped in front of him with the slightest hint of troubled worry in his eyes. "I still think your playing with fire putting your trust in that trickster."

Conan leaned against the door jam with his hands behind his head and actually had the nerve to roll his eyes at Hakuba. "Considering the types of cases I usually see, I think I can handle myself around a thief who actually has _rules_ about people getting hurt. The second I start swooping around the skies of Tokyo with stolen goods you have my full permission to arrest me," Conan muttered with a snark usually reserved for Heiji when he came visiting unannounced before giving himself a deprecating smile. "Besides, I have reason to believe what he's said so far."

Hakuba stilled at the darkness in Conan's eyes far too old to have any right to be there when he said that. '_Sometimes Edogawa-kun, I really don't know what to make of you,_' Hakuba thought to himself following Conan out the door. As soon as they reached the street, Conan took off running and Hakuba watched him go with a thoughtful look before slipping into Café Poirot below the Mouri Detective Agency.

/

By the time Conan made it to the school gates, he was breathing hard over a burning scratchy throat from a jog that had never left him winded before. Ran waved to him and parted ways with Sonoko to meet him. "Running a little late, huh?" she asked with a bright smile. "I thought you forgot about me."

Conan blushed brightly in a stammering fit while his traitorous hand simultaneously tangled itself in her skirt. "D-did you have a good day?" he finally managed without too many stutters.

"Perfect day," she replied happily. "Sonoko and I both aced our exam! I already know I made a perfect score!" She took off merrily for the market street. "What do you feel like having for dinner? I'll make whatever you feel like, just name it."

Conan trotted to keep up with her quick pace trailing her slightly but refusing to let go of her. He caught a few glimpses of himself in shop windows flushed brightly but chalked it up to all the shopkeepers that kept awwing over his skirt cling on Ran. His fuzzy concentration, if he was completely honest, he blamed on staring at Ran at a head-rush dizzying tilt while she dashed around the store humming to herself.

That may have been why he didn't notice the silver squad car parked outside the store… until Sato cheerily greeted Ran. He froze in wide-eyed panic as his hold on Ran forced him closer and closer to Sato and Takagi.

"Sato-keiji, Takagi-keiji, what are you doing here?" Ran smiled walking up to the car. Beside her, Conan tried to place as much of himself behind Ran as he possibly could, especially with Takagi watching him so closely.

"Actually, we came to find you," Sato gave them a sharp grin. "Do you have a little time? We can give you a ride home."

"Of course. And thank you for giving us a ride," Ran replied politely sliding into the backseat of the car and scooting to the far side so Conan could follow her in.

Any reluctance Conan may have had was forced out of him when Ran climbed in the car and he was obliged to follow his hand that would. not. let. go. A chill ran down his back when he felt the familiar feel of eyes watching him and he instinctively searched out his window into the alleys on either side of the store. Finding no one suspicious he looked up and caught Takagi staring at him in the rearview mirror. His eyes narrowed in challenge before he could stop them at the suspicion in Takagi's eyes before raising his shield of clueless wide-eyed innocence.

"I'm so glad you're doing better, Ran-chan," Sato grinned on her knees in the front passenger seat leaning over the back of the car seat in blatant disregard of traffic safety laws while Takagi backed them out of the parking lot. "How's your head?"

"Oh, I'm doing fine," Ran's hand went to her cheek where she had been punched giving it slight rub. "To be honest, I've had similar injuries at my karate competitions. Conan-kun was the one who was hurt more than me _and_ managed to get himself soaking wet, too."

Conan winced inwardly watching Sato and Takagi exchange a furtive look at that fact. He really did not need any paperwork noting that he had been on the tower exterior around the time the helicopter had shown up… especially with the Black Org.'s penchant for stealing police reports. He was so lost in worry while trying to maintain a decent poker face in front of Takagi he missed half of Sato and Ran's conversation. He looked up after hearing a firm snap in time to see Sato handing Ran her cell phone back.

"Thank you so much, Ran-chan," Sato told the teenager seriously. "You have no idea how much this will help our investigation. And as for your and Conan-kun's statements, there's really no need for either of you to go to the trouble of coming to the station. I see that you're going to be busy preparing dinner so we can stop by tomorrow."

Conan perked up sharply at that, momentarily forgetting that Takagi was watching him. Both detectives had been trying quite hard to get them into the station for their statements all week and coming to the detective agency instead was highly irregular. "Why don't you want us at the station?" Conan winced as the words left his mouth before he could stop them.

Sato and Takagi stared at him and exchanged that odd look again before Sato finally smiled at him somewhat proudly. "We can't get anything past you, huh Conan-kun." She gave them both a thoughtful look while coming to some kind of decision. "The truth is… we're investigating without permission. The case was classified."

"It was what_!_?" Conan exclaimed. His thoughts ran a thousand kilometers per hour as his mind kept thinking up reasons the police would try and bury such a public display of the Black Organization's existence, each more disturbing than the last. He drew his knees up to his chest in worry.

"Why would they do something like that?" Ran asked in concern, "Especially after so many detectives were hurt."

"That's what we want to find out," Sato confided quietly, "The two of you and Kudo-kun are our strongest leads to whatever happened in that tower."

"Of course, we'll do anything we can to help," Ran whispered back eagerly catching Sato's clandestine mood about the subject. "I'm sure Shinichi will do the same."

"Thank you, Ran-chan," Sato grinned. "Right now our biggest advantage is that thanks to Megure-keibu, your involvement was kept out of all official reports." Conan sighed in relief from his spot next to Ran. A sudden bump had Conan sliding into the door at the unexpected following swerve and Takagi scrambling to grab onto the waistband of Sato's skirt to hold her in place while wrestling with the wheel one-handed.

"We really need to get the tires aligned," Takagi muttered red-faced once the car was back under control and he could let go of her.

"Well forgive me if we were a little too _busy_ last week," Sato hissed back under her breath. She ran a smoothing hand over her rear to straighten her skirt flushing just as red at the inadvertent grope.

"You got new tires?" Conan piped up, thankful to change the subject to something more mundane.

"Ah, yes," Takagi answered watching him through the rearview again. "We had two flats…"

"They were shot," Sato interrupted.

"…two flats," Takagi continued, "on the highway during the mahjong case. We only had time for a quick tire replacement."

"You were shot at?" Ran asked with worry. Beside her Conan leaned forward listening intently. This was the first he had heard about Takagi and Sato being targeted during that incident.

"_Yes_, we _were_," Sato replied sending Takagi a particularly stubborn look. "Both tires blew out simultaneously and there was a car parked on the bridge over the highway. _I_ think we were sniped."

Takagi sighed beside her. "We'll know for sure after we hear back about the tires. One of Sato-san's father's friends is retired forensics. Sato-san asked him to look over the tire remains. That's where we're heading next."

Conan chewed his lower lip pensively studying his knees. Surely there was a way to ask Sato for more details about the car she saw without looking _too_ interested.

"What kind of car was it you saw again, Sato-san?" Takagi asked offhandedly.

Conan kept very still and tilted his head ever so slightly to hear better. '_Please, not a Porsche, please not a Porsche,_' he repeated in his mind gripping his knees until his knuckles turned white.

"Some kind of sports car, I couldn't tell from the angle…" Sato murmured letting her eyes slide to the side while she replayed the incident in her head. "…but it was bright blue."

'_Chianti._' Conan's eyes widened and he looked up sharply from the accompanying stab of fear… and right into Sato's observant shielded gaze. A quick glance to the right told him Takagi was also watching him with narrowed eyes in the rearview, as he had been since he and Ran got in the car. '_They've been fishing,_' Conan realized letting his gaze shift back to Sato, '_and I walked right into it._' He swallowed carefully and forced the tension from his body. He adopted a bored expression and intentionally broke eye contact first to stare blankly out the window. From that point on, Takagi and Sato engaged Ran in random small talk furthering his theory that he had just handed them everything they wanted. He sighed in an irritated huff into his knees. '_Maybe I can convince Hattori to let me hide out for a week until this all blows over,_' he mused. A vacation to Osaka sounded great after the mess of screw-ups that had been following him the last few days. All he needed was the world's greatest excuse to convince Ran to let them both skip school for a while.

They finally stopped at the detective agency and Conan was following his hand out the door on Ran's side when he felt Sato's hand on his shoulder keeping him in place. He shut his eyes for a moment to bite back the sigh and more than a few four-letter words that readily sprang to mind. Ran stopped automatically feeling the tug on her skirt and looked back to where Sato had a firm hold on Conan. "Ran-chan, would you mind if we borrowed Conan for a bit?" she smiled winningly, "We can take his statement while you're busy and bring him right back."

Conan tensed under Sato's sharply digging nails, he was pretty sure Sato was nowhere near as cheerful as she sounded, and shamelessly begged Ran with wide blue eyes not to leave him behind in the car. "Actually," Ran set her shopping bag on the ground and reached into the car for Conan, lifting him off the car seat and away from Sato setting him on her hip. "Conan-kun hasn't been feeling well lately so I'll be keeping him with me today. I'm sure you can ask him what you need when you come by tomorrow, right Sato-keiji?" She flashed the detectives a brilliant, sweet smile that would have made Nakamori at his angriest fold.

Conan had been forced to let go of her skirt when she picked him up and latch onto her shoulders to keep his balance when she bent to grab her things with a free hand. It was beyond embarrassing to be carried like a two-year-old in front of the two detectives but if it got him out of his impending interrogation he was more than willing to swallow his pride and play the part of a tired sick child. "Ran-neechan, I'm tired," he whined dropping his face into the junction of Ran's neck and collar so no one could see how brightly lit his face was. He didn't dare look up again until he felt the jolts of Ran climbing the agency's stairs.

"It's okay now, Conan-kun. They're gone," Ran told him softly. Blush somewhat under control he looked up at her questioningly. She caught his confused expression and smiled comfortingly, "You didn't want to talk about that night, did you? I know we need to do our part to help them with their investigation, but if you want to wait until the nightmares are under control, that's completely alright."

"Un," Conan mumbled some sort of agreement. Needles of guilt started twisting in him as he realized all he needed to do was whisper the word nightmare and Ran would probably run interference with the detectives as long as he needed her to… and it _was_ awfully tempting. As things stood, he had only delayed his doom by a day and if the ones Sato and Takagi had crossed at the bridge really were Chianti and Korn, he might need to keep a closer eye on the two detectives. The idea that any of the Black Org. members had gotten so close raised the hair on the back of his neck.

"Alright, down you go." Ran set him down on the pillows around the low table. Conan gulped, realizing they were already in the apartment. He had meant to fidget his way out of her hold _much_ earlier, he really had. She picked up a paper left on the table and read it over before handing it to Conan. 'Out on a case. Be home late. Tell Ran not to expect me for dinner – Kogoro.' "I wonder why dad left the note signed to you."

Conan gave her a clueless shrug. As soon as she had disappeared into the kitchen he crumpled the note and tossed it in the trash. A quick dash to her room later and the glass by the bed was dumped in the bathroom sink and the Tylenol bottle stashed back in the first aid kit, his school scuffs tucked in his backpack and the afghan neatly folded. Kogoro's helpful note ordering Conan to stay in bed and take his medicine until his fever went down slipped unnoticed to the floor almost completely hidden by Ran's bed skirt. By the time Ran came to check on him, he was calmly if boredly clicking through channels in front of the tv. Assured that all was well, she left him to his channel surfing.

/

A few hours later, Conan was dashing out the door, skateboard in hand calling byes over his shoulder. It had taken him longer than he liked to convince Ran that he was fine and would be right back after running some errands. He was now running late for his meeting at the museum. In his rush, he failed to notice Hakuba watching him out the window from his booth in Poirot.

Hakuba debated following the boy but Conan taking off on his skateboard headlong down the sidewalk at top speed in the fading sunlight made his mind up for him. By the time he could hail a cab Conan would be long gone. Instead, he turned back to his laptop and the captured photo on his cell phone of Ran and a disturbingly familiar-faced teenager he had never met before in their school uniforms. He took a sip of his tea and reread the archived newspaper article dated almost a year ago "Teenage Detective Vanishes."

* * *

On the steps of the Beika Museum, a teenage boy in dark clothing sat on the steps lazily watching the families and couples leaving from under the brim of his black cap. His face was obscured by the bangs his cap pressed down over his face. He pulled his black jacket tighter over his pirate shirt against the sharp wind of the front blowing in, surprisingly cold for September.

So far, the only thing to catch his interest was seeing one of the children little Kudo played detective with, the freckled boy, walking in with his parents half an hour ago. He chewed on the white stick in his mouth thoughtfully letting himself daze out in the orange-red light of sunset.

So much had changed with just one forced slip of Co- no, Kudo's during his last heist. He had finally found someone who had heard of the weird killers in bad gangster get-up who had wrecked his life all those years ago. Not only knew of them, but knew quite a bit about them. He had no doubt that Kudo hadn't told him nearly as much as he knew… and that was fine. Someone as honest and stiff as Kudo was bound to have his doubts about working with someone he had been considering an… enemy? Kaito shook his head as he revised his inner monologue. Adversary was more like it. He had even proven to the shrunken detective that they _could_ work together… on occasion… when their goals aligned.

Now how had Kudo run afoul of these guys? He frowned to himself and stared into the sun's reflection on the nearby river. Kudo had been very tight lipped about any personal information about… what had he called them? The Black Org? He assumed that was short for organization. Which meant there were likely a lot of those murdering bastards. And what had that been about naming themselves after drinks? How utterly lame. Either way, he hoped Kudo would be a _little_ more forthcoming on information today. He had many many questions.

He was contemplating his interrogation list for Kudo in his mind so deeply he almost missed the chilling crawl up his back which was his only alert before something cold and metallic pressed against the back of his exposed neck.

"Don't move!" A quiet but firm voice intent on remaining inconspicuous in the still busy museum entrance ordered in a register so similar to his own. "Move, and your dead!"

He froze accordingly, and slowly lowered his arms to his sides. "Being a little petty, aren't you?" he asked quietly after hearing his own words thrown back at him in a voice practically identical to his own.

"Maybe," the voice replied from just over his shoulder.

"Do you feel better now?"

"Yes, actually."

"Then please take your phone off my neck. It's freezing." Kid peeked over his shoulder to where Conan was readjusting his bowtie.

"Sorry if you were waiting long," Conan said settling back into his usually taciturn attitude. "It's been a long day."

"Uh-uh. We are not walking around with you looking like I just kicked your puppy. People will think I'm kidnapping you or something," Kid frowned, not bothering to move from his sun-warmed step just yet.

"_You're_ the one dressed like a failed motorcycle gang member," Conan retorted looking down at Kid from his step above him. "We're not flying?"

"Not unless you want to be swept out to sea," he remarked with a shiver. He pointed up to the fast moving clouds high above them. "This front came with a shift in the jet stream. It's going to bring a lot more wind before the night is over. And the breeze down here will be nothing compared to the gale force a few hundred feet up. You'd have to be crazy to fly tonight. So we're stuck walking. Now can you _try_ not to look like I'm leading you to the firing squad." That statement actually brought a wry smirk to the detective's face.

"Actually, it's more like the other way around," Conan replied far too seriously despite his smirk. He backed up to give Kid room to stand. It felt strange seeing Kid in street clothes. He caught himself trying to get a better look under the cap while Kid stretched after sitting on the concrete steps for so long.

"What do you mean by _that_?" Kid asked rolling his stiff shoulders. He paused noticing Conan's slightly bent forward posture. On instinct, his hand went to the brim of his cap pulling it lower, his eyes wide with the accompanying adrenalin rush of near discovery.

"Sorry," Conan muttered straightening up quickly and purposely looking away.

"No, it's alright," Kid smiled to himself under the shelter of his cap brim before pulling it off completely. "I'm the one who's been coming to you, demanding _you_ believe in _me_ and help _me_. The least I can do is let you hold a few of the cards."

"Are you sure?" Conan asked with his back still turned. He was fairly sure from the light swish sound what Kaitou Kid had done. "You can still put it back on."

"Perfectly sure," Kid replied, setting the cap on Conan's head. "You're much too nice, Kudo." He gave the cap a final pat pushing the front of the cap over Conan's eyes nearly swallowing his nose.

"Would you not call me that in public_?_! You're almost as bad as Hattori," Conan hissed rounding on the teen behind him. He ripped the large hat off his head… and stared.

"Right, right," Kid muttered, "Guess you'll be equally snippy if I call you tantei-kun all the time too, huh? Um… what are you doing?" Conan was slowly walking around him in a circle, not so easily done on stairs, and gaping at him like some sort of escaped zoo animal.

"This is just creepy," Conan muttered looking up into a near perfect mirror of his own adult face, mess of hair not withstanding. "Are you wearing a mask?"

"No, I'm not wearing a mask! This is my real face!" Kid exclaimed as quietly as he could with so many people milling around while looking thoroughly insulted. "And stop saying I look creepy. I'm starting to think all detectives have no manners."

"Sorry," Conan smiled with no actual remorse in his voice.

"Whatever," Kid muttered pulling his jacket collar up self-consciously. He ran a hand through his hair to erase the last bit of hat-hair before starting down the steps. He tossed the bare candy stick over his shoulder nailing the public trashcan without a look. "You coming, or you gonna point and stare some more?"

Conan followed him chuckling at Kid's affronted attitude. "So, I guess I must be your easiest disguise ever."

"Are you kidding?" Kid muttered from the bottom of the stairs waiting for Conan to catch up. "It took me eight hours to get _my_ hair to do _that_." He pointed at Conan's cowlick with a hand shaking in aggravation.

"Now who's pointing," Conan muttered with a frown. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and leaned on his skateboard like a cane until his light-headedness passed. '_I really need to get more sleep if stairs are giving me problems now,'_ he thought to himself. He pulled his own jacket tighter against himself when the wind made him shiver. "Although considering I'd like 'them' to keep thinking Kudo Shinichi is gone for a _bit_ longer, I'd appreciate it if you stopped dressing like me," he muttered with a tired sigh. Conan looked up to see the teenager next to him holding out a candy.

"Lollipop?" Kid offered.

"No thanks," Conan stared disdainfully at the confection dangling in front of his face. "I don't like sweet things."

"Really? That's too bad," Kid grinned "and I brought all kinds of flavors. These are special imports too. I've got cherry pink cashmeres, and three chocolate tuxedoes, and toffee top hats…" with each name he circled his wrist and a new lollipop appeared held tight between his fingers until he was sporting all three in a sugary imitation of Wolverine. "If you don't want any, more cheesecake for me."

"…cheesecake?" Conan hazarded a guarded look at the thief who had paused mid-unwrapping and was now watching Conan's sharp stare at the lollipop in his hand.

"Here you go," Kid presented the pink and white chocolate-dipped candy to him, which Conan accepted with blue eyes so wide Kid could nearly have mistaken him for an actual child. Prize in hand, Conan dashed ahead several lengths before putting it in his mouth with a look of sheer bliss. "What are you, an alley cat? I'm not going to steal it away from you." He wasn't sure if Conan's behavior was funny or insulting.

"You're a thief," Conan stated like the simple fact explained everything. "…and it's cheesecake." Conan started off down the tree-lined path bordering the Teimuzo River and Kid trailed after him grumbling about how rude detectives wouldn't get any more lollipops.

A few steps ahead of him, Conan was thoroughly enjoying the way the lollipop was coating his throat. He hadn't even noticed how scratchy his throat had gotten in the last few hours until he had something soothing it. And cheesecake lollipops? He stopped at the tree-lined path by the river and waited for the grumbling thief to catch up in an infinitely better mood.

"So what do I call you?" Conan asked Kid while the teen walked past him and took the lead. "I can't exactly call you Kaitou Kid in public and you'll call me rude again if I call you 'hey you' all the time."

"…Kaito," the teen muttered around his own lollipop.

"You're kidding, right?" Conan responded with a snort.

"It's spelled different," Kaito defended. "The kanji are completely different." He sulked along with his hands in his pockets ignoring the boy who had the temerity to laugh heartily. "…and none of that niichan business. I don't think I can handle having someone I know is my age call me that and take it seriously," he added.

"Fine, fine," Conan answered dismissively. "So where are we headed exactly?" He looked up to see the profile of the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower above the tree line. He dropped his sight back to ground level quickly realizing a look in the right direction would give him an easy view of Touto Tower. He gave an involuntary shiver feeling his skin crawl. Just knowing he was within eyesight of the tower was… disconcerting.

"We're heading to the crash site, where I started following that guy," Kaito answered ignoring Conan's behavior politely. He fell back a few paces until his body was blocking Conan's view of Touto Tower as best he could. "I figured we'd follow his path in case there's anything along the way that means more to you than it did to me."

Conan nodded partially distracted. He had been avoiding physically coming near anything that had to do with that night preferring to rely on second hand police reports and the tidbits the detectives in Megure-keibu's department dropped within his earshot. He really wasn't looking forward to this.

Kaito frowned. Kudo was brooding again, something he was beginning to notice was a habit of the young detective's. "So… you mentioned last night that all these agents have weird code names," Kaito started, desperate for something to get attention off where they were going. "What's this 'Snake' drink? I've never heard of an alcohol called snake."

"You don't want to know. My dad tricked me into trying a shot once. Back when my mom was shooting an action movie in Taiwan. _Then_ he told me what it was." Conan muttered, kicking at a random pebble in his path. "Thought it was hilarious."

"Now you're just making me more curious," Kaito grinned. "So… how did you get mixed up in all this? You did say last night you'd tell me," he reminded noticing Conan's less than pleased frown.

"No, it's not that," Conan muttered shoving his free hand in his pocket. "It's not exactly my favorite subject." Kaito nodded and waited for him to continue. "What happened was my fault. I was stupid and cocky and I nearly hurt Ran in the worst possible way. I was never supposed to shrink… I'm supposed to be dead." He looked up to see Kaito's startled blue eyes watching him silently. "There was a murder case that night at Tropical Land. I was there with Ran to celebrate her winning the karate championship. These two men wearing black were among the suspects but they had nothing to do with it so I didn't pay much attention to them. But later that night I saw one of them skulking off behind the park buildings and followed him. I should have realized the other one _had_ to be close by… but I didn't. I was too interested watching his illegal firearms smuggling deal and got myself caught. It was a rookie mistake." He stopped walking completely at that point and stared out at the river next to them. Kaito waited patiently for him to continue. "…they poisoned me," Conan finally said. He blamed any wavering in his voice on the sore throat that was bordering on painful at this point. "They forced me to swallow some pill and left me to die. I thought I had. When I woke up… I was in this body."

"Do you know who were the ones who did this to you?" Kaito finally asked when it looked like Conan wasn't going to come out of his new brooding episode anytime soon. It was utterly disturbing to realize the boy he was currently talking to, had been trading barbs over heists with, should have been dead over a year ago… and these moments of silence Conan seemed fond of gave him the creeps. He fought the urge to drag them both out of the shade and into one of the patches of fading sunlight still filtering through the canopy of tree branches.

"Gin and Vodka," Conan finally answered, meeting his eyes somewhat shakily. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before setting off again forcing Kaito to catch up with him. "From what I've learned since then, Gin's pretty high up the chain of command."

"So you've got two of them after you?" Kaito asked. From the amused snort that came from the 'not-child' his eyes widened in surprise. "More than two?" Conan spared him a sidelong glance and smiled wryly at his worry.

"Relax. I've got more than a few cards in my hand. I'm not as out in the dark as I was in the beginning," Conan said with the beginning of a shark grin spreading over his face. "There are even allies."

"Allies? You found more people willing to fight these guys? I don't suppose you plan on sharing any of that intel," Kaito asked. To be honest, he wasn't all that surprised that Kudo truly was as many miles ahead of him as he thought he might be. For once, he let himself indulge in the tiny hope that maybe, just maybe, the universe was finally stacking the deck in his favor.

"Not just yet. After all, it's your turn to share," Conan reminded, grateful for the break in having to speak. His throat really itched, and he was running out of lollipop.

Kaito sighed deeply, suddenly far less enthusiastic about their destination. "Would you be surprised if I told you I never planned on being a jewel thief? I literally fell into all this over a year ago."

"After Kaitou Kid's eight year disappearance," Conan nodded. Kaito visibly flinched at the word 'disappearance' and Conan's eyes widened while he flashed through his memory of yesterday's conversation. "He didn't just disappear, did he?" he asked quietly.

Kaito shook his head not able to trust his voice just yet. And despite his usual monstrous control over himself, he couldn't stop his eyes from tearing up. By his side, Conan watched him carefully before looking away to let him collect himself.

"You knew the first Kaitou Kid." Conan let the statement hang until Kaito was able to respond.

"…my father," Kaito finally said softly. Conan looked back to him sharply at that. Kaito huddled under his coat in the dropping temperature although he wasn't all together sure his chill came from the wind alone. He nearly jumped when he felt a hesitant touch at his side before it became a firm pat. He looked down to where Conan was stubbornly walking along with his eyes fixed forward. He grinned despite his tears at the thought that his hip was the closest Kudo could come to giving him a comforting pat on the back. He couldn't help himself, he dropped a hand and gave him a good hard hair mussing until his hand was knocked aside and he was given a rude glare. "Thanks," he said, honestly grateful. Conan 'hmphed' gruffly and moved out of arm's reach.

"I take it _they_ were the ones who… killed him?" Conan finally asked somewhat hesitant with the touchy subject. "Why?"

Kaito frowned. "From what I've been told, in the last few years before he di- was killed, he was contracted to find something, a jewel called Pandora. It's a jewel within a jewel that glows red in the moonlight. It's supposed to make people immortal. Ridiculous, isn't it?" He glanced at Conan who was staring contemplatively at the ground. "You know something."

Conan looked up sharply, frowning at the interruption in his concentration. "Maybe," he answered before falling quiet again. '_I'll have to ask Haibara about this later,_' he mused.

Kaito stared at him expectantly for a while before realizing that nothing more was going to be said. With an exasperated sigh he continued. "Anyway, once my dad realized what type of people he was working for, he quit. My dad was a good person, you know. He spent the last of his days trying to find Pandora before they did."

"I see," Conan replied, still deep in thought, "that's why they targeted him… and you, since you're looking for it too, right?"

"Well, that was the idea," Kaito smiled grimly, "It's not like I had any other way of finding them." Conan froze still so abruptly Kaito almost tripped when his leg caught the edge of Conan's skateboard. He was about to say something when he noticed Conan's shoulders were shaking.

"You mean… all this time… on purpose…"

Kaito tensed at the fury in Conan's voice growing in proportion to his volume.

"**Your plan all this time has been to make yourself a giant bull's-eye and wait for them to come KILL YOU**_**!**_**?**" Conan yelled at him. "Are you trying to arrest your father's killers or join him_?_!"

"Look. At the time it was the best I could come up with," Kaito defended angrily. "I didn't know how big an organization these guys were! I hardly knew what I was doing_?_!"

"Obviously!" Conan hissed realizing just how far his voice was traveling along the empty walkway.

"If you've got a problem with the way I do things, say it now," Kaito challenged angrily.

"Yes! YOU'RE AN IDIOT!" Conan yelled, eavesdroppers be damned. "From now on, **you** don't make a move unless **I** say so," he ordered advancing on the teen twice his size angrily. "You have no idea what you've been messing with, do you! I'm surprised you're still here!"

"I think I've handled myself well enough before you came to my rescue, Kudo," Kaito retorted.

"No, you've been lucky," Conan all but growled. "And when your suicidal plan finally does get you killed and they learn who you are, it won't stop at just you. They'll kill everyone you've been in contact with, both as Kaitou Kid and Kaito, Ekoda high school student. These people leave no possible witness alive. You're hair-brained plan is endangering everyone you know and love." He locked glares with Kaito who had actually backed up several steps.

Conan dropped his glare first turning away. "I can't believe I sound like Haibara," he muttered to himself with a disturbed shudder.

Kaito raised an eyebrow in confusion at what the serious girl Kudo hung out with sometimes had to do with anything. Although he _was_ glad they were no longer shouting at each other. Kudo had just given something new and quite frightening to consider about his enemies. He had seen true terror in the detective's glare. He of all people knew how insanely fearless Kudo could be and to see him that frightened of what he had been doing… for the first time, Kaito wondered just how in over his head he actually was.

"Look. If it's about finding this Pandora," Conan said softly breaking Kaito from his inner musings, "I can get you into the Suzuki family vault myself. Legally. And my father's connections can probably get you in to just about any place else. I'm sure that's not as much fun but the organization is most likely on high alert right now and this is _not_ the time to push things."

"…fine," Kaito muttered picking up on Kudo's tense worry. "I'm sure I can take a break for a while until things cool off. Okay?"

Conan nodded feeling the tension he hadn't even realized was there leave him in a rush that had him using his skateboard to lean on something to hide the fact that he was shaking slightly. He was horrified to realize all this time behind their odd rivalry, Kid had been playing such a dangerous game with the Black Org.

"We're here," Kaito said softly looking up at the fork in the path ahead of them.

Conan looked down the cherry tree lined path full of shadows in the setting sun at the fields of headstones of Aoyama Cemetery. "Great," he muttered following Kaito into the shadows.

* * *

"Ran!" Kogoro called as the windy conditions outside slammed the door behind him. He ran a hand over his opposite arm trying to warm up. Ran rushed out of the kitchen, wet towel in hand, in time to have a grocery bag dumped in her arms.

"What's all this?" Ran asked peeking into the bag full of various over-the-counter medicines and bags of cough drops.

"I couldn't remember which ones the brat took," Kogoro replied disappearing into her room.

"Eh? Conan-kun's sick?" Ran asked rushing in after him.

Kogoro frowned at the empty bed. "Where is he?" he growled at his startled daughter.

"He told me he had a school project to work on with his friends," Ran answered worriedly catching her father's tense mood. "Did something happen today?"

Kogoro muttered curses under his breath as he dug for Ran's cell phone in her school blazer's pockets where she had left her things on her desk. "I had to pick him up from school today for running a fever. Kid was so out of it, he never woke up the entire trip home."

Ran frowned replaying the day's events in her mind. "He never said anything about not feeling well," she said softly, hugging the bag of medicine to her. Her eyes caught sight of a scrap of white under her bed. The plastic bag was dropped on the bed and she bent to pull the note out. Her father's handwriting stared back at her 'Take two when you wake up and **stay in bed** until Ran gets home.' She looked up when her phone was thrust in her face.

"Tell him to get home now," Kogoro ordered in no uncertain terms.

Ran nodded, furrowing her eyebrows in her own angry agreement. Conan was most definitely grounded as soon as she got her hands on him.

* * *

Conan ducked under the stretches of yellow police tape. The crash had left a deep rent in the hundreds of meters of marker stones of the cemetery. The two had to climb over broken pillars of granite and limestone just to get near the crash site still blackened from the fire.

"When I got here, that big guy was pulling his parachute lines out of that tree," Kaito pointed to a camphor tree sporting multiple broken branches. "He tossed it in the fire of the helicopter. The police won't find a trace of it though. From the way it turned the fire white, it was designed to be easily disposed of."

"Magnesium," Conan replied in understanding. He reeled back when the wind brought the lingering acrid smell of burnt plastics and fuel hitting him full in the face. He backed away from the crash site in a painful fit of coughing.

"Hey, are you alright?" Kaito asked, dropping to a knee next to him. He hesitated a moment before rubbing soothing circles on Conan's back while the detective struggled to catch his breath. Over his shoulder Conan gave him an odd look but didn't pull away. "My mother used to do that when I was sick," Kaito supplied. "I guess the smoke is still a little strong."

"I'm okay," Conan said finally after several deep slow breaths. It was a blatant lie. His throat felt like it had been torn open from the coughing if his newfound hoarseness had anything to say for it. "Come on, let's go. Where did Vodka go from here?" He started off, trying to get as far upwind from the cough-inducing environmental disaster area of the crash as he could.

Kaito trailed after him observing the detective closely. Kudo had gone from yelling at him to closed off fairly quickly. A quick look around told him plenty. They were a few blocks south of a high school, west of a junior high and within a kilometer of two different hospitals. Not to mention the busy nightlife of Roppongi. By some sort of miracle, the helicopter had managed to crash in the one unpopulated bastion in the area. Kaito had no doubt the thought of how many people could have been killed that night weighed heavily on Kudo's mind. He quietly retook the lead and led them away from the cemetery. He also noted that even though Conan's wheezing disappeared once they left, the boy looked exhausted.

Once they left the wooded cemetery, Conan was a different person. Kaito watched the detective enter high alert like an invisible switch had been thrown. He was quite sure the detective was memorizing every detail he saw, inspecting faces they passed carefully.

Conan, for his part, was sinking into a deep chill as Kaito led them deeper into Roppongi-cho. All around him were the nerve centers and headquarters of hundreds of domestic and international companies. He was starting to get a very bad feeling about where they were heading. He wasn't disappointed when they turned down streets full of buildings spouting foreign flags from dozens of different nations. They had already walked past several foreign embassies and he was forced to realize his fears were probably going to be realized. He almost ran into the thief when Kaito crouched down in front of him suddenly to re-tie his still perfectly tied shoe.

"It's the office building across the street and two blocks to the right," Kaito whispered with his eyes focused on his laces. Conan looked past him as nonchalantly as he could to the non-descript slate-colored building lacking any sort of identifying sign… directly across the street from the US Embassy. "This way," Kaito continued in a hushed voice and led them left under an overpass toward the Akasaka Twin Towers.

Conan followed Kaito's confident lead as though he had every right to enter the rich building full of business suites in nothing but a pair of jeans and jacketed tee-shirt while trailing a child where they rode the elevator to the top floor. Kaito led them confidently to the stairwell and the roof access. It only took a few seconds of quick work with his lock-pick set to deactivate the door's alarm and let them both onto the roof. He almost expected a lecture from the detective but Conan fairly raced past him once he opened the door to get to the building's edge facing the embassy's street. He followed after to find Conan balancing precariously on some electrical cords bolted to the wall trying to look over the ledge of the eighteen-story tower.

"Hold up Kudo," he muttered dryly, plucking the second-grader off the ledge by the back of his jacket. "We are not playing the 'will-I-follow-you-off-a-building' game again." He dropped the aggravated detective back down on the steel walkway that followed the building's edge. "And I'm not exactly packing a hang glider in any of these pockets."

"So what am _I_ doing up here?" Conan grumped. "Listening to you describe what you see_?_!"

"I expect you to have a little more faith in me." Kaito sat down on the walkway and pulled out a previously loosened brick. Conan watched him empty the hollow space of two pairs of binoculars, stashed snacks and sodas. Kaito reached in and pulled on a length of clear fishing wire that dragged out the outer wall ceramic brick leaving a perfect sniper's view of the organization's cover building three blocks away… at Conan's eye-height no less. "Of course, it's only useful at night. The missing brick would be noticeable to anyone with a sharp eye during the day."

Conan pressed up against the wall to get a better view of the building. He felt the smirk stretch wide across his face while he watched some dark-clothed figures entering the corner building as he spied unnoticed. "This is perfect," he smiled to himself. He let himself indulge in the gleeful images of what Akai could have done with a vantage like this.

"Glad you're enjoying it," Kaito smiled from his spot, smugly pleased that Kudo approved of his spynest. He decided he wouldn't mention that it had taken him a few bricks to get the perfect angle. He offered Kudo one of the binocular sets.

Conan shook his head at the offered binoculars. Instead, he activated his glasses' night-vision and zoomed in on the building. He flinched back from the wall when two familiar men left the building. At Kaito's curious expression, he pulled off his glasses and silently held them out. Kaito donned the glasses and leaned over to the spyhole.

"That's the guy I followed," he whispered to Kudo even though there was no possible way the men exiting the building could hear them.

"Vodka," Conan whispered back, "The other one is Gin." Kaito pressed his lips together tightly watching the man with the long hair pause and start looking around. The man definitely gave him a terrible 'creepy' vibe. He backed away and pressed himself flat against the ledge wall when the man started carefully inspecting nearby rooftops.

"Good instincts on that one," Kaito muttered pressing a hand to where his heart was racing. He didn't even know this guy like Kudo did, but for whatever reason, something about that man terrified him. He glanced over to where Kudo was hugging his knees against his chest. "Is he the one who tried to…" he trailed off observing the tight tension in the body of the not-child next to him. How does one ask about someone's would be murderer.

Conan caught Kaito's arrested expression and guessed at Kaito's meaning. He shut his eyes turning away but nodded carefully at the hanging question. He leaned his head back against the ledge. Part of him wanted to check to see if Gin had left, assured that no one was really watching him, and part of him was waiting for the high-powered sniper shot to pierce through the hollow cinderblock and ceramic façade ledge behind him and end everything. He was being ridiculous… and he knew it. Gin would never pull a weapon across the street from a well-guarded embassy even if he knew for a fact he was being watched. Now if only he could convince his body to unwind itself from the tight ball it was currently in.

Hearing Kaito shifting around next to him brought his attention out of his inner theatre. His eyes widened in an adrenalin rush that made his hands shake when he realized Kaito's crawl to check on him brought his head directly in front of the hole. His hand shot out and latched onto a fistful of jacket material that he jerked down with enough force that he dropped a surprised Kaito to the grated walkway before he could stop himself.

Kaito gently rested a hand on the shaking fist still holding his jacket to the floor once he realized the boy in front of him was focused on the hole above him. "Kudo, I'm pretty sure they would have shot by now if they knew we were here," Kaito said gingerly from his position on his stomach. "I've been watching that building every night for the last few days and no one's come beating down the door with guns. Okay?" He made no attempt to pull the small hand off his jacket and instead waited for whatever panic attack had come over the detective to pass and Kudo let go himself.

Conan forced himself to relax after several deep breaths and finally released Kaito from his death grip. He scooted away from Kaito and curled back around his knees staring at the shadowy forms of the building's air conditioning units until his choppy breathing was mostly under control. "Sorry," he muttered still staring off into shadows though he did notice Kaito ducked _under_ the hole while sidling closer out of the corner of his eye.

Kaito settled himself next to Kudo along the wall and opened the soda bottle he had been dragging with him before he was forced into a face-plant on the walkway. "Here," he shoved the bottle into Conan's unfocused gaze. "Drink that and calm down."

"How is drinking something loaded with caffeine going to settle my nerves?" Conan protested but accepted the drink anyway.

"It'll settle _my_ nerves," Kaito sighed. He watched Kudo closely until the boy actually drank something. He was somewhat impressed when Kudo downed half the bottle in one long gulp.

Conan, for his part, was immensely thankful for the way the sugar-laden drink was coating his burning throat. He had almost gotten used to the fire until the drink soothed it and frowned when the need for air made him put the drink down. Sure enough the burning came right back.

"So what's the plan from here?" Kaito asked once it looked like Kudo was sufficiently calm. "I'm sure there's enough in that building to arrest someone if we can get the police in there. I can always lead Nakamori there while he's chasing Kaitou Kid if we need to get in without a warrant. Although I'm sure Nakamori would investigate the place anyway if Kid let on something illegal is going on there."

"Absolutely not," Conan muttered hoarsely. He winced around his aching throat. "Kaitou Kid is on their hit list. You can't just go waltzing up to one of their strongholds and you definitely can't lead police someplace so dangerous." He stopped to take another long drink. "We can't handle this in-house. The Tokyo police can _not_ handle something on this scale." He drummed his fingers on the pocket holding 'Shinichi's' cell phone. '_I need to get in contact with Jodie-sensei as soon as possible,_' he mused thoughtfully. His eyes slid over to where his unexpected partner in all this was waiting for him to continue. '_I wonder how Kaitou Kid feels about working with the FBI?_' If that was going to work, he'd have to find a way for Jodie to grant them some kind of temporary pardon or a full one if he could swing it for the infamous Kaitou Kid to turn witness against the Black Organization.

"Leave that part to me," Conan finally said, "I've got people who can handle the take down part of this. But it would be helpful if we can establish a timeline of the people in that building's schedule. How many people are in there? How many guarding? It would be great if we can identify as many of the agents using that place as a base as possible."

"You've got _people?_!" Kaito repeated raising an eyebrow at the tiny figure in front of him. Conan gave him a piercing glare that oddly enough made him feel better now that the shrunken detective was back to his testy arrogant self. "Fine, I'm sure we can figure out everyone's pattern from up here. And if worse comes to worse, I can always pop on a disguise and have a …"

"No! You will _not_ go over there!" Conan ordered fiercely before he could finish.

"I would have a disguise on," Kaito protested. "I'm not exactly an amateur at this kind of thing Kudo."

"Their side also has someone who's a master of disguise," Conan argued softly, unwilling to escalate into another yelling match. "She's as good as you. If she's there, she'll make you in a second."

"As good as me, huh?" Kaito frowned. The way Kudo had said that felt both like some sort of… dark compliment. It left him feeling odd. "Okay, we'll do things your way, Kudo. You know what these people are like better than I do." Especially if these recent panic attacks he'd been witness to meant anything.

Convinced Kaito wasn't going to do anything reckless without him, Conan stood up and braced himself against the ledge at the accompanying head rush that would have left him reeling without the support. "It's late, and I was supposed to be home ages ago," Conan muttered pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes clenched shut in an attempt to make the dizzy spell leave quicker. "We can start up again tomorrow."

"Right," Kaito stood after him and handed back the borrowed glasses. "I'll walk you out. The building's probably closed by now." He replaced the bricks and stowed his supplies before following Conan to the stairwell. "From here on, I'll be flying in and out of here. The weather should settle down by tomorrow night. It would probably be best if you left before the building locks up for the night from now on." Conan nodded tiredly and retrieved his skateboard from its resting place against the door.

Conan let himself follow on auto-pilot down the first floor of stairs while he figured out how to carry his drink, his skateboard, _and_ hold tight to the railing to keep himself from tumbling down the concrete deathtrap with his current precarious sense of balance. It was finally settled with him closing the drink and shoving it in his pocket when holding the railing took precedence over his throat which was _on fire_ after his legs decided to wobble in mid step at the top of that particular set of half-floor's stairs.

He was halfway down the next bit of stairs when his staring at the giant blocky black letters that read '15' in front of him finally registered in his brain. "Are we walking down all eighteen floors_?_!" he exclaimed in a loud echo at the messy head of hair disappearing around the corner ahead of him.

"Shh!" Kaito hissed back. "The building's closed but there are _still_ night watchmen patrolling, you know," he whispered back. "There's no security cameras in the stairwell, which while I certainly think is stupid on their part, it makes sneaking in and out easy for us." He almost burst out laughing at the childish whine that Kudo let out behind him. "Come on, it could be worse. We could be going up instead of down."

Conan sighed and thought very unkind thoughts at the thief ahead of him, which while it would have cheered him up much more if he could have voiced them aloud, his throat had traitorously sided with the thief tonight and didn't seem likely to let him express them. By the tenth floor, he had to stop for a drink since his heavy breathing really hurt. After that he noticed that Kaito was walking much slower and he was thankful for small miracles the thief hadn't humiliated him by offering to carry him. Although by the sixth floor he was revising what he considered acceptable humiliation.

Kaito still reached the first floor ahead of him and had already deactivated any alarms on the emergency exit by the time he got there. Out of exhausted spite, he refused to say thank you when Kaito kindly held the door open for him and offered only a tired glare. Kid had been right about the front though. The second he left the protection of the stairs and stepped outside, he was blasted by a gust of wind that bit right through his clothing.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Kaito smiled zipping up his jacket to the top and re-donning his cap for what little insulation it provided. Conan nodded and watched the teen take off, mixing with the crowded nightlife until he was out of sight. Cursing the crowd for making his skateboard, and a quick route to the subway station, useless and cursing himself for not bringing a thicker jacket, he trudged along, forced to move with the slow speed of the pedestrian traffic. He pulled out Shinichi's cell with the intent of calling Jodie when he noticed the time of 12:04 am staring up at him. The phone was shoved back in his pocket with an annoyed expression. It was much too late to call the FBI agent, best to leave it for morning.

The late hour didn't actually register with him until he was halfway home. He started from his half-sleep on the rhythmically swaying train to dig out his cell currently still on mute from class that morning. He had missed more than a few calls from Ran and they were all glaring angrily at him from the screen's display much the way he was sure she would when he got back. He leaned his head against the cool metal of the seat's railing that despite the chilly wind he had just escaped felt almost comfortable. He shut his eyes against the overly bright light of the fluorescent bulbs and let himself float off.

/

It was much closer to one in the morning when Conan skateboarded home, none to steadily, after riding the subway in a full circuit around town. He cursed himself for actually falling asleep on the subway. Bad things happened to small children who left themselves completely vulnerable on empty subways in the middle of the night. And now he felt even more miserable with less than an hour's interrupted sleep under him. Between his exhaustion and just plain feeling lousy, he could barely keep the sidewalk steady in his gaze while he rode the skateboard so slowly he could have gone faster if he walked.

He eventually made it to the Mouri Detective Agency where all the lights were off except for one room he knew very well. It looked like he was going to have to survive an awfully long lecture before he'd be able to sleep that night. He glared at the stairs in front of him. Why did the apartment have to be on the third floor? It just wasn't fair.

He started up the stairs, which quickly became more of a climbing crawl as his vision swam and tilted in front of him leaving him to use his hands to pull himself up the steps like he was traversing a slightly inclined ladder. The skateboard was abandoned somewhere along the second floor landing for someone else to discover, probably Kogoro, in the morning. By the third floor landing, he was inching along the wall, clinging good and hard to keep himself 'mostly' standing. He hardly noticed that the door was unlocked and noticed even less that, thanks to leaning on the door for support _as_ it was opening, he was now staring up at the tiled ceiling of the living room from the floor of the open doorway. Either way, it seemed like a blessed spot to finally let himself pass out even as very familiar voices were calling his name. By the time a pair of arms was scooping him up off the ground, he was lost to the world.

~ _Fin_ ~

/

/

AN:

38.5C = 101.3F

Yes, cheesecake lollies exist and I want some! And for those who haven't seen the ep, Conan/Shinichi is a cheesecake fiend. (ep476 Genta's Sure Shot) The conversation on the museum steps was a reference to ep515 Kaitou Kid's Teleportation Magic. Also references to 537-538 Kaitou Kid vs The Strongest Vault pt1-2, Movie 3 Last Magician of the Century, and Movie 8 Magician of the Silver Sky.

Shejiu (mixed drink) – body fluids of snake are mixed into wine and drunk immediately in the form of a shot (wikipedia)

Seeing as how Beika-cho does not actually exist, I saw fit to place the museum within walking distance of Roppongi and Akasaka. Still kind of a long walk though. The river that runs alongside it, the Teimuzo, also does not exist, so I did the same with that. Everything else, however, is as accurate as I could make it in reference to the helicopter crash site. If you watch movie 13 starting from the point Conan turns on his night vision zoom lens in his glasses, the building the helicopter flies behind just before it blows up is the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower and the place the main body of the helicopter goes down in is Aoyama Cemetery. I'm not making it up, that's the real name of the cemetery. Ironic, huh? Point of interest, there's no actual Beika-cho but there is an Edogawa ward and a Konan district (in Minato ward).

On a personal note, sorry this chapter took so long. It was actually finished a long time ago (um…late January) but I messed up my two chapter buffer cause I was sick last month and did no writing at all and it took me a while to write the next two chapters to catch up. Thank you to everyone who reviewed so far. They've been a joy to read and really encouraging. They really motivate me to focus and work harder on my writing. (And make me feel guilty if I neglect my writing -_-;) So thanks again. See you next chapter.

/

/

/


	5. Chapter 3 Metropolitan Police Detective

Disclaimer: not mine. Movie-verse and Anime-verse.

Summary – _For Takagi-puppy and Sato-kitty._

/

/

**~ Chapter 3 ~ Metropolitan Police Detective Story ~ **

/

"I can't believe we _really_ searched his desk," Takagi muttered under his breath. His jumpy shifting vision and hunched shoulders spoke of his conviction that every detective in the building knew what they had done the night before.

"No. _You_ held the janitor's flashlight, _I_ searched his desk," Sato corrected. "Would you just relax?" All she had found was a file arranged by continent of the numbers for all the villas owned by the Kudo family. And while that might prove useful as a last resort, a Xeroxed copy of the list was now folded and tucked in her notebook, they had found no way to reach Kudo Shinichi. With a frustrated sound, she shoved the department doors open and stalked to her desk. The other detectives in the room caught sight of her mood and silently crept out of her path.

When Takagi stepped into the room a pace or two behind her, he was met with a wall of glares obviously blaming him for her current dark mood. After a year of being partnered with Sato, he was well used to the ostracizing of her fan club and ignored the mood of the room blithely while making his way to his desk and beginning his daily ritual of brushing tacks off his chair and checking his drawers to see if all his pens and pencils were missing again. His searching hands stilled when a cold feeling made its way up his back and made the hair at the back of his neck stand on end.

The feeling actually preceded his discovery of what had caused it. The past year's abuses from Sato's fans had taught him early on to be meticulous about where he kept each and every file, folder and scrap of paper in his desk. It wasn't that his papers had been riffled through that had caught his attention; it was that though his things had been gone through, nothing was missing or out of order that really felt unnerving. He glanced across his desk to Sato who had been opening drawers in her own desk with a growing frown. When she finally met his stare, her eyes were unreadable but her gaze kept trying to stray to the rest of the room and forcefully pulling back to him.

With a look of determination she finally stood up suddenly. "I could really do with some coffee, how about you Takagi-kun?" She was already around the aisle and hauling him from his chair and after her before he could respond.

Sato didn't stop dragging him until they reached the empty hallway corner full of vending machines and she had backed him into the corner between the coffee machine and the wall. "Uh… Sato-san?" He started feeling his flush creep up his ears at the mental image of what they _must_ look like to anyone who passed by. Especially when she leaned both hands on his chest to better reach his ear on tiptoe.

"It was your desk too, right? Someone went through your desk too?" she whispered nervously keeping an eye over her shoulder for anyone coming.

"Uhh… umm…" He settled for nodding when it became clear to him his brain was not going to be supplying understandable words anytime soon. His hands automatically settled on her waist when her balance wobbled and he gulped loudly when she pulled him down to her height by his tie.

"Where did you leave your notebook?" she demanded in a tense hiss.

His embarrassment died when he saw the desperate look in her eyes. He patted his jacket down before pulling the notebook from his inner jacket breast pocket just far enough for her to see the spine down his jacket. Sato sighed in relief and sagged against him. "Do you have yours?" he asked in a hushed voice.

She dropped her own hand over her hip pocket to confirm what she already knew. Her own notebook firmly met her palm under the fabric of her skirt-suit. "From now on, don't let go if it," she ordered. "Keep it on your body at all times."

"Do you think that's what they were after," Takagi mused.

"I… I don't know," she sighed honestly, considerably calmer now that she had confirmed they both had their notebooks. "It's just a feeling."

"We should ask the nightshift if they saw anyone suspicious," Takagi suggested standing up again after her hold on his tie went lax.

"…no, keep this between us," she replied hesitantly giving the hallways a deep searching look. "We can't be sure the person who did it was an outsider."

"Sato-san," Takagi placed his hands firmly on her shoulders drawing her attention back up to his face. He ducked down to her height to better keep his voice heard only by her. "Are you seriously suggesting someone in the department was searching our things?"

Sato shivered unexpectedly at his voice in her ear. She pulled her one hand still flat on his chest away quickly when the rumble of his lowered voice vibrated in her chest.

"Ah? Sato-san? Are you okay?" Takagi pulled his hands back from her on reflex noticing a burn of red crossing her nose.

"Fine, fine," she muttered waving him off before he could notice the blush creeping down her neck and across her chest. "More importantly, this is a large-scale cover-up we're talking about here. We can't assume anything right now. It would be a mistake to take everyone's loyalty for granted. Obviously, someone thinks we lied about turning in our notebooks yesterday." Sato fell silent and leaned back against the nearby window deep in thought.

Takagi sighed and slumped against his hidden corner wall space. '_I wonder if Sato-san would be angry if I told her Shiratori-san already knows?_' He snuck a close look at her before she looked up at him sharply. He shifted his gaze away quickly.

"Either way, we've been out here alone too long," she grabbed his arm and started dragging him back to the squad room. "We might make whoever searched our desks suspicious if we're seen out here like this. From now on, if we need to talk about our investigation, we'll do it in the car. Got it?" Takagi barely had time to nod before he was dragged into the room and into the den of angry stares. Although, he really didn't mind this time as Sato had forgotten to let go of his arm.

* * *

After a morning of rushing through reports, the two retreated to Takagi's car under Shiratori's suspicious gaze. Takagi kept a wary eye out for any following vehicles until they were well away from headquarters. "The schools won't let out for another few hours, is there someplace we're heading?"

"We're heading back to Shindou-san's home. I want to spend a little more time searching," Sato smiled with the grin of a cat on the hunt. "Just call it a hunch."

Takagi nodded thinking back to what Sato had told him on the bridge. "You're worried about the fact someone was there before us," he concluded.

"Yes, someone who had more than enough time to get there before we did after we had our tires shot," Sato replied with a determined frown.

Takagi kept silent knowing stressing his difference of opinion would only start an argument. Truthfully, he suspected Sato was right about her theory of snipers on the bridge. But the idea filled him with an ominous dread he hadn't felt since the first and last time he had asked the oddity named Edogawa Conan who he really was… a sense that the answer was best left unknown. He had since developed a healthy instinct about when to let things be. That instinct screamed silently now. This morning's discovery that they had fallen under _someone's_ suspicion likely meant that it was already too late to avoid whatever trouble had found them. It was with a troubled sense of trepidation that Takagi followed Sato up the steps of the murdered artist's triplex.

"Sato-san, what are you going to do about the police tape?" Takagi worried staring at the yellow seal across the door. But Sato was already defiantly yanking the plastic tape off the door.

"Don't worry. I brought an extra roll," Sato smiled. "We can just reseal the place when we leave." With a final bright smile at Takagi, she swept through the door leaving him to follow with a self-conscious sweep of the hallways for any suspicious watchers. He entered to find Sato crouched on the floor studying the flattened blue acrylic paint. "Takagi-kun, do you remember if anyone in forensics was able to estimate a shoe size from this?"

Takagi joined her on the floor with a quiet sigh and ran a gloved finger over the dried paint feeling the ridge at the start of the paint spill marking the edge of the shoeprint. "I never was able to read the formal report before it was confiscated but I did speak with Tome-san," he whispered, still somewhat unnerved by their unlawful presence in the curtain-shadowed study. "He told me he estimated the shoe-size as ten, maybe ten and a half, leather-soled. Expensive by the look of the stitching."

Sato frowned pensively. "If she really did have a clue about our case like she said, they may have been here to find it or her before us." She gave the room a last critical look and wandered off to search the rest of the third floor apartment.

/

Sato stared at the untouched bedroom of Shindou Sumire. "No one from forensics checked here, right?" she asked with a frown.

"No, after it was concluded that she was kidnapped from her study, the rest of the house was left alone," Takagi said looking over her shoulder into the tidy room. Sato tugged her gloves down and started stripping the sheets from the bed. She tossed the pillows at her partner with a fierce look that plainly said 'check them.' Obediently, Takagi pulled off the covers and was thankful the pillows had zippers which made searching the stuffing for anything hidden much easier.

Sato had already bared the bed down to the mattress and was in the middle of pulling out the lacey bed skirt when a small notebook fell to the floor from the space between the mattress and the box spring. "Takagi-kun, take a look at this," Sato called, settling on the floor next to the bed.

Takagi abandoned his search of Sumire's nightstand and joined her on the floor. "Is that a journal?" he asked.

Sato nodded with a fond smile running her hand over the worn leather that had clearly seen better days. "She even kept it in the same place I used to," she mused nostalgically. She turned to catch Takagi's reaction and flushed realizing how closely he was leaning over her shoulder to see the book.

"Sorry, Sato-san," he muttered backing up when Sato's head turn almost made them bump. She shook her head slightly assuring him that she was fine with his proximity. With a self-conscious clearing of her throat, she turned the first page of the notebook and was met with line upon line of… gibberish. Thoroughly distracted, they flipped through page after page of English letter combinations that made absolutely no sense.

"What on earth is this?" Sato asked turning the book sideways hoping that would make the nonsense clear somehow. It didn't. She advanced through the pages sections at a time. "She filled the whole thing with this stuff."

Takagi carefully plucked the book from her hands and moved closer to the curtained window so he could better see the pages in the filtered yellow sunlight. Sato watched him carefully from the floor. He was wearing that same frown he usually wore when he was on the verge of an idea. She set her chin in her hand watching him with a hidden grin while he studied a page of the notebook.

Oblivious of Sato's gaze following him, Takagi frowned at the page he was studying. His grasp of the English language was rusty at best but it was clear to him that this wasn't any sort of English language he'd ever encountered or any other language that depended on the roman alphabet. There were even occasional letters of the Cyrillic alphabet mixed in occasionally, but always the same handful of symbols. He frowned bringing the page close to his eyes so he could count the number of letters per word. "There's a pattern here," he muttered softly, mostly to himself. "I can almost catch it." He pulled the page away with a frustrated sigh and scrubbed at his strained eyes with the back of his wrist. "I'm pretty sure this is Japanese. It's a code of some kind. I'm sure if we had Kudo-kun look at it, he could figure it out faster than I could."

"Well, since we have no idea how to find him, we can ask Conan-kun what he thinks of it when we catch him and Ran-chan later," Sato answered with a determined grin.

Takagi handed her the notebook back and paused noting the white fibers that now clung to his gloves giving them a woolly effect he probably wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't looking at the edges of his white gloves against the dark background of the room. He carefully picked out one of the short fibers and held it out to Sato for inspection. "Where do you think these came from? I didn't think Shindou-san had a cat."

Sato held his hand steady while she studied the white fiber carefully. She bit the fingertip of her glove and pulled her hand out to run the wispy fiber between her forefinger and thumb. "This is synthetic," she mumbled. She frowned at the familiarity of the spidery stuff. "I've seen something like this before." She leaned a hand against the bed to stand… and froze when her naked fingertips came in contact with the flimsy fabric stretched across the bottom of the box spring. "Takagi, help me." She sprang up in a rush, hardly aware of her overly familiar words in her attempt to shove the heavy mattress off the edge of the bed.

Takagi almost missed her slip completely in his own rush to help her with the mattress that when her words finally caught up with him, his hands slid off the mattress edge dropping him hard across the wood frame of the box spring.

"Takagi-kun, hurry up and get off. We need to move that next," Sato ordered.

"And we're back to –kun again," he muttered to himself sadly. The box spring was surprisingly heavy and took both of them to lift and stand on its side. Sato left Takagi to hold the frame steady while she ripped the cloth covering the bottom easily. From his position, he noted off-handedly that several of the thick staples holding the fabric to the frame were much newer than the rest.

Sato had only pulled half the fabric off when a tumble of papers and small film canisters dropped out of the spaces between the springs to litter the carpet. Ripping the fabric off completely revealed a number of folders and two thick hard-backed books wedged between the springs. Between the two of them, they soon had the pile somewhat organized. Takagi had pulled a canvas gym bag from the closet and was packing their newfound stash of evidence while Sato was looking through the books, two consecutive-yeared yearbooks from an exclusive foreign private school.

Takagi watched Sato's growing frown with concern. "Did you find something?" he asked quietly. Rather than answering, Sato marked her page with a finger and held the book out, open to the front cover page, for him to read. The words 'To my Oneechan, Stay Strong. Your loving brother.' stared back at him. "I thought Shindou-san didn't have any family," he asked while she pulled the book back and began flipping through pages again.

"According to our files, she doesn't," Sato replied. "But both of these yearbooks were signed by her brother."

"Who doesn't exist," Takagi continued in confusion.

"The other book said 'Until we're free,'" Sato muttered still absorbed in the pages of faces. She finally slammed the book closed with a frustrated growl. "This is hopeless. This school must have a thousand students." She shoved the pair of books into the bag angrily. "Lets go, I think we've found all we're going to and the longer we stay, the more likely someone's going to notice."

Takagi shouldered the bag and followed her out, waiting for her to re-tape the door shut. Both of them left the building with a heavy sense of paranoia, sweeping the streets for any onlookers. Sato grabbed onto the strap of the bag before Takagi could reach the car. "I'll carry it," she said in response to his questioning look, "I want to look through these papers." She hugged the canvas bag to her chest, dashing for the car door.

Takagi nodded and quickly started unlocking the driver side door. He jumped at the distant rev of a motorcycle almost dropping his keys.

"Problem?" Sato asked from her side of the vehicle watching him fumble with the keys.

Takagi sighed in relief watching the yellow motorbike leaving a driveway down the street. "Nothing, Sato-san," he answered giving the neighborhood a last hard look.

Sato nodded, satisfied with his answer, "We should hurry. School lets out soon."

/

Sato watched Takagi closely while they navigated the streets crowded with high-schoolers walking home. He had developed a noticeable habit of glancing in his rearview mirrors every few minutes. She recognized the behavior from cases of her own in the past. And while she really would have liked to just ask if they were being followed, she forced herself to wait until her partner said something himself. '_He'll tell me once he's sure_,' she mused to herself and focused her attention back on the yearbook in her lap. "Do you think we missed them?" she finally asked while Takagi parked across the street from the main entrance.

"No, I can see Ran-san and Sonoko-san from here," he murmured watching the two girls chatting in the shade of some trees near one of the buildings. They sat in silence while the throngs of teenagers thinned out to a few stragglers.

"Maybe Conan-kun went straight home," Sato finally suggested still buried in page after page of pictures.

"He'll come," Takagi answered back absently, still keeping a steady eye on the street.

Sato finally set the book aside and watched her partner's diligent attention to their stakeout. "What makes you so sure?" she asked behind a grin, leaning an arm against her lowered window.

"Ran-san's waiting for him," Takagi answered plainly.

Anything Sato was planning to say next was lost in the sudden ring of her cell phone that had them both jumping at the sudden loud sound. She gave him an apologetic half-smile before answering.

Takagi tuned out her low conversation and continued watching Ran and Sonoko who hadn't moved from their shady spot despite the fact that they were now the last students at the school. He didn't have to wait long before a small figure in blue came running down the street and stopped at the edge of the gates, bent double trying to catch his breath, before calmly rounding the corner. Takagi reached back and tugged at Sato's sleeve to catch her attention. Behind him, he heard her phone snap shut and the shift of fabric as Sato joined him at his window.

"The analysis on our tires is finished," Sato whispered, watching Ran speaking enthusiastically to Conan who currently had his back to them. "We can stop by after this." Takagi nodded distractedly.

They watched Ran set off from school in the opposite direction of the detective agency towing Conan behind her with a hand attached to her skirt, his legs forced to double-time to keep up with Ran's brisk pace.

Sato buried a snicker behind her hand resulting in an unlady-like snort. "Sonoko-chan was right. He really _does_ cling on her," she laughed.

Takagi mumbled a sound of agreement absently watching the boy with narrowed eyes. He hadn't seen much of the boy in the last week but he was shocked at the dark circles under Conan's eyes he could clearly see, even from his vantage point across the street. "Are we approaching them now or do we follow?" he asked quietly.

"Follow for now," Sato mused. "If they see us, we'll approach but I want to watch for now."

Takagi nodded in quiet agreement and waited for the two to lead them by half a block before starting the car and pulling out after them.

The longer he watched Conan, the deeper Takagi frowned. Conan spent most of his walk staring at Ran while she chatted excitedly with him. But at each lapse in conversation, Takagi watched Conan's attention shift to the crowded streets and empty alleys, systematically studying everything and everyone around him. "Sato-san, have you noticed?" he finally asked.

She spared him a quick glance, noting his calculating frown before looking back up in time to see Ran and Conan disappear into a grocery store. "Conan-kun's behavior, right?"

He nodded, watching the store's doors close before turning to give her his full attention. "Is it just me, or was he casing the neighborhood?"

Sato held his gaze with a calculating look of her own. "You're right. He was," she agreed with a deepening frown of her own. "Sonoko-chan was right about _something_ having him spooked." She crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat while Takagi parked the car next to the store doors. "The mole who was impersonating Superintendent Matsumoto is, _was_, in our morgue, Honjou Kazuki-san is in jail for serial murder… the only loose end Conan-kun could possibly worry about is that third party element with the helicopter that was shooting at Kudo-kun." She met Takagi's gaze seriously. "He's holding out on us."

Takagi nodded, shutting off the engine. "Catch them on the way out?" he asked. Sato nodded curtly, in full detective mode, tracking Ran's movements through the storefront windows. "So how are we going to play this?" he asked, watching them disappear down an aisle.

"I'm pretty sure we can get Kudo-kun's number from Ran-chan if we ask," Sato mused, catching sight of Ran at the check-out line. "As for Conan-kun, we need to confirm if he knows anything about our unknown factor." Takagi nodded in agreement while Sato lowered her window to wave Ran over as she and Conan exited the store.

"Sato-keiji, Takagi-keiji, what are you doing here?" Ran greeted them cheerily. Takagi kept a sharp eye on Conan who, for the first time since he had met the boy, looked like he wanted to bolt and run at the sight of them.

They watched as Conan tucked himself further behind Ran's legs like the shy, bashful child they both knew he was _not_. '_No,_' Takagi corrected himself narrowing his eyes at the boy. '_A shy kid peeks at people from behind their safe place. Conan-kun is hiding from us._'

He watched Conan through his mirrors reluctantly follow Ran into their car after Ran accepted Sato's offer of a ride… with all the enthusiasm of a criminal sentenced for execution. Conan had barely closed the door when he tensed, wide-eyed, and started searching out the windows in controlled desperation before looking up and meeting his gaze through the rearview mirror. He quietly watched Conan shift from surprise to glaring to completely expressionless and staring blankly out the window. He dropped his attention away from watching Conan to turn on the car and start off for the Mouri Detective Agency.

"I'm so glad you're doing better, Ran-chan," Sato smiled, reaching over the back of her seat to gently take hold of Ran's chin and tilt her head to the side so she could inspect the fading bruise on Ran's cheek, rendered nearly invisible by a thick layer of base and concealer. "How's your head?" she asked, using her free arm to grip her seat's headrest while Takagi drove them out of the parking lot. She left watching Conan mostly to Takagi but kept an eye on the boy out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh, I'm doing fine," Ran answered politely. "To be honest, I've had similar injuries at my karate competitions. Conan-kun was the one who was hurt more than me _and_ managed to get himself soaking wet, too."

Sato's eyes widened at the new information, instantly running that night's timeline through her memory. According to the statements of the news crews still at the tower after closing, the brief shower had started drizzling at the same time the helicopter had approached the tower and stopped within minutes after it had crashed… placing Conan somewhere on the tower exterior _during_ the attack. She exchanged a pensive look with Takagi who, she was sure, had made a similar realization. They both took notice of Conan's flinch and subsequent lack of expression. She filed the factoid away for later discussion with the boy in question as soon as she could get him alone.

"He got caught in the rain? Well I hope he doesn't catch a cold," she replied politely to Ran who nodded her agreement earnestly. "Actually, I wanted to ask you for a favor, Ran-chan," Sato continued dropping her voice conspiratorially. "I was wondering if you could give us a phone number for Kudo-kun."

"Oh, of course Sato-keiji," Ran smiled, digging through her satchel. "You need it for a case, right? I'm sure he wouldn't mind." She handed her phone over to Sato who already had her own cell out. She scrolled through Ran's address book and quickly entered Kudo's number into her own phone's memory. She was about to hand the phone back when she caught the name 'Hattori Heiji' above Kudo's name. She hesitated only a second before entering the second name into her phone.

"Thank you so much, Ran-chan," Sato grinned, handing the phone back and tucking her own back in her jacket. "You have no idea how much this will help our investigation. And as for your and Conan-kun's statements, there's really no need for either of you to go to the trouble of coming to the station. I see that you're going to be busy preparing dinner so we can stop by tomorrow."

Takagi gave her a confused questioning look. Sato caught his eye and smoothly moved her window-side arm, formerly holding onto the headrest, behind her back and crossed her fingers. He gave her a confirming nod of understanding and shifted his focus back to driving… and watching Conan.

"Why don't you want us at the station?" Conan's voice suddenly piped up from the back seat.

Sato jumped slightly and returned her hold on the seat as innocently as possible. '_Should we tell him?_' Sato asked with her eyes. Takagi gave her a cautious nod and kept his focus on Conan's reaction.

"We can't get anything past you, huh Conan-kun," Sato finally said aloud. "The truth is… we're investigating without permission. The case was classified."

"It was what_?_!" Conan exclaimed.

The two detectives watched the myriad of emotions cross his face from shock and worry to what looked like fear while he drew himself inward around his knees. Sato frowned watching him and desperately wished she could have just five minutes alone with the kid to pump him for whatever it was he knew.

"Why would they do something like that?" Ran asked, "Especially after so many detectives were hurt."

Sato brought her attention back to Ran with a frustrated sigh. "That's what we want to find out. The two of you and Kudo-kun are our strongest leads," Sato said softly.

"Of course, we'll do anything we can to help," Ran whispered back, eagerly catching Sato's clandestine mood. "I'm sure Shinichi will do the same."

"Thank you, Ran-chan," Sato grinned. "Right now our biggest advantage is that, thanks to Megure-keibu, your involvement was kept out of all official reports." Sato couldn't stop her eyebrow from arching at Conan's sigh of relief. Her mental list of questions to ask him just kept getting longer.

A sudden swerve had her scrambling to hold onto her seat while Ran and Conan slid across the back seat. She gasped as she felt cool fingers not her own slip down the gap between fabric and the skin of her lower back grabbing onto her skirt's waistband, holding her in place. She glared at Takagi in embarrassment feeling her face burn with heat.

"We really need to get the tires aligned," Takagi muttered as an excuse, blushing just as red. He let go quickly and refused to look her in the face.

"Well forgive me if we were a little _busy_ last week," Sato hissed, mortified that Takagi was now intimately aware she was wearing plain cotton underwear today. She gave her skirt a few smoothing tugs self-consciously. She had never really noticed before how long Takagi's fingers really were. And that thought was _not_ helping her control her blush.

"You got new tires?" Conan asked, distracting them both from their embarrassment.

"Ah, yes," Takagi answered, grateful to have something to focus his attention on. He returned to watching Conan through the rearview. "We had two flats…"

"They were shot," Sato interjected, still sounding peeved.

"…two flats," Takagi continued, choosing to ignore the aggravated tone in Sato's voice, "on the highway during the mahjong case. We only had time for a quick tire replacement."

"You were shot at?" Ran asked sounding worried. They both noticed Conan's hunching forward silently to listen. Sato leaned her free hand on Takagi's seat and let her fingers drape over the seat out of Ran and Conan's view to tap him twice on the shoulder. He met her eyes with a determined look of his own confirming that he caught her intent.

"_Yes_ we _were_," Sato argued stubbornly, throwing Takagi a 'look'. "Both tires blew out simultaneously _and_ there was a car parked on the bridge over the highway. _I_ think we were sniped."

"We'll know for sure after we hear back about the tires," Takagi confided to the two in the back with the suffering sigh of a long-standing argument. He tried not to flinch at Sato's answering pinch to his acting skill. "One of Sato-san's father's friends is retired forensics. Sato-san asked him to look over the tire remains. That's where we're headed next."

Sato forced her attention on Ran, listening to her intently as she worried over their safety, hoping Conan wouldn't notice their subtle observation of his restless interest.

Takagi watched Conan carefully. Having spent the most time working with the intelligent boy, he could easily recognize when Conan was itching to ask questions. He made a quick guess as to what it was Conan wanted to know. "What kind of car was it you saw again, Sato-san?" he asked casually.

He swallowed a smirk when he noticed Conan grip his knees tightly and lean forward. He started to mentally congratulate himself… until he noticed how pale Conan had become. It looked like the boy was holding his breath.

"Some kind of sports car, I couldn't tell from the angle…" Sato murmured, following his opening. She snuck another look at Conan's tense posture. "…but it was bright blue."

Conan's head shot up with an uncontrolled look of terror right into their waiting gazes. Sato allowed herself a small, satisfied smirk. His reaction was all the confirmation she needed; Conan did indeed know something about their shadowy third party.

Trapped, and knowing it, Conan's eyes filled with panic for only the tiniest moment before he pulled himself back under control giving only the impression of a bored fidgeting child. Sato was content to let him be. Having gotten the information she needed, she settled for asking Ran casual questions about her test which Ran answered happily.

Takagi, however, kept his attention on Conan. It was obvious that Conan had recognized the car Sato had mentioned. And the boy's frightened expression in that moment had him worried. It was starting to look like Sato's theory that they had been shot at might be true. Which meant Sato's insistence of a hidden third party was also true… and the motorcycle from the day before really _had_ been following them. It was with a deep frown that he pulled to a stop in front of Café Poirot and the stairs to the detective agency.

Sato gave Ran a cheery goodbye while Conan followed her out the door, his hand still holding tight to Ran's skirt. Before Conan could reach the door, Sato took firm hold of his shoulder and felt his entire body freeze, completely tense under her tight grip. "Ran-chan, would you mind if we borrow Conan-kun for a bit?" It took all her control to keep her desperate desire to interrogate the child out of her voice and expression looking up at Ran's startled eyes. "We can take his statement while you're busy and bring him right back." She couldn't quite help digging her fingers into Conan's shoulder while she waited for a pensive Ran's decision.

From his vantage, able to see Conan through the rearview mirror, Takagi frowned at the fearful look on Conan's face at the thought of being left behind with the two of them. While part of him _did_ feel guilty for having entrapped the boy to get their answers, he still felt both hurt and worried that Conan hadn't come to them with whatever information about the case he had as he always had in the past.

"Actually," Ran smiled politely, plucking Conan out of Sato's grip. "Conan-kun hasn't been feeling well lately so I'll be keeping him with me today. I'm sure you can ask him what you need when you come by tomorrow, right Sato-keiji?" she smiled brightly at them while she closed the car door before either of them could argue their point.

Sato cursed under her breath watching Ran carry Conan away from them and up the stairs. She twisted around and sat in her seat properly, angrily yanking the seatbelt on, having been denied her chance to wring answers out of the kid. "Tomorrow, I don't care what happens, we are asking him what he knows," Sato growled out in no uncertain terms.

Takagi fidgeted with the steering wheel, unsure of what to do with Sato's foul mood. "…um… I-I'm sorry," Takagi offered timidly. "About… you know…" Sato stared at him blankly. "Umm… your skirt?" he ventured hesitantly when he noticed her confusion.

"How can you worry about that now," Sato muttered, dismissing his apology with a wave of her hand. "He knows," she muttered to herself in frustration. "He knows about that blue car, and he never mentioned it to us."

"I guess… this means… someone _did_ shoot at us." Takagi slumped over the wheel in defeat.

Sato took a deep settling breath before speaking. "We still need to find out what Towa-san found out from those tire fragments," she replied. "Take us to the Jikei University campus in Shiba." Takagi took a deep breath of his own before pulling away from the detective agency.

* * *

Takagi trailed after Sato through the hallways of Jikei University's medical labs peeking into the occasional lab through the narrow windows in the doors. "Sato-san? How exactly do you know this guy?" he asked catching up with her quick pace.

"Towa, Keizo. He was the head of forensics for about twelve years at the department until he retired a few years ago. It was before your time," Sato mused. "He's a friend of the family."

"Oh." Takagi fell silent following her through the maze of hallways. "Umm… Are you sure it's okay to discuss that… unknown party with him?" he asked carefully. Sato paused long enough for him to catch up with an eyebrow-cocked expression ordering '_Explain yourself._' "I thought you didn't want anyone from the department to know what we were doing."

"It's fine," Sato answered with a frown. "I asked him to keep this off the record."

"Won't he feel obligated to tell Megure-keibu if it turns out we really were shot at?" he insisted.

"Like I said, I asked him to keep this off the record. It'll be fine. The three of us are the only ones who'll know we had those tires tested," she replied breezily before stopping in front of a nameplate reading Office of Dr. Towa, Keizo PhD – Professor of Biochemistry and Physics.

"You trust him?" Takagi asked quietly.

"Of course," Sato smiled at him brightly while she opened the door. "Before he transferred to forensics, Towa-san was my father's partner." She walked through the door leaving Takagi gaping in the hall alone.

/

"Miwa-chan, good to see you," said a man in his late fifties from behind his desk. He looked up from the report he was typing and pulled off his reading glasses. "Please, make yourselves comfortable." He waited for them to close the door to his office before reaching across the table to Takagi. "You must be Miwako's partner."

"A-Ah, yes. Takagi Wataru." Takagi reached across to shake the man's hand nervously still slightly unnerved by the presence of a man so much more familiar with Sato's life than he could ever be.

"So you finished your analysis?" Sato asked, too eager to sit down.

Takagi watched her grip the back of one of the chairs in front of Towa's desk to mask her slight bouncing on her toes in anticipation of being proven right. Towa gave the door a quick look to make sure it was closed and unlocked one of his desk drawers pulling out a small black-lid screw-top jar and slid it across the table to them.

".308 Winchester, sniper specials. You were right on the money, Miwa-chan," he frowned over laced fingers. "One was an MK316 MOD and one was an M118LR NATO."

Sato inspected the fragmented, mushroom-tipped lumps of metal of what had been 27mm bullets in the glass jar in her hand. "Those are heavy rounds," she muttered passing the jar to Takagi for him study. "This was all you found?"

"They were hollow tips," Towa replied, Sato and Takagi jerked their heads up in unison to stare at him. "Always hated working with 'cop killers.' Afraid those scraps were all I could find. The rest of those bullets are shattered across the asphalt where you were hit and probably long gone after that rainstorm the night of the Touto Disaster. Both bullets pierced through your tires completely. Those bits are just shrapnel that bounced off the tarmac and embedded themselves in your tire tread."

"So, Miwa-chan, are you going to tell this old man why you couldn't let the department handle this?" Towa asked crossing his arms over his chest in fatherly concern. Takagi squirmed guiltily under his gaze but Sato maintained her blank look of professional distance. "They have far more accurate equipment than I do and you would have gotten results much faster. I can't imagine why you would have someone out-house do the lab work on this unless this is a matter involving someone within the department?"

The two held a quiet staring match until Sato finally cracked a partial smirk. "Once a cop always a cop, huh Towa-san?" The older gentleman waited patiently while Sato paced his office gathering her thoughts. "…We might be onto something big…We're not sure yet how deep it goes, but for now, lets call it a possible department leak."

Towa held his gaze on them for a while longer before pushing off abruptly from his lean against his desk. Takagi and Sato watched him walk the perimeter of his office pulling window shades as he went. He snapped on his desk radio and leaned on his hands heavily for good measure before addressing them again. "Miwako, do you really understand what you're saying_?_!" he asked quietly. "Do you really believe someone in the department is responsible for these slugs in your tires?"

"Someone is trying very hard to make a certain high profile case disappear," Sato answered stubbornly in an even voice, instantly understanding his intent and keeping her voice under the radio's volume. "All our paperwork and even our evidence have been confiscated."

"That's politics!" Towa replied in a hitched voice beginning to rise before he caught himself. "Some… politician or government bigwig up for re-election starts pulling rank and headquarters has no choice but to cave in order to keep things running smoothly. No one likes it, but it happens."

"We already know of one instance of infiltration into the department's upper ranks," Sato continued softly. Towa turned to look her in surprise. "We can't be sure he was acting alone. The fact we were shot at as a delaying tactic during our case means more than one person has been acting and using a coordinated strategy… with detailed knowledge of our actions in real time."

"Lets just say I believe you," Towa replied giving the two young detectives a serious look, "and there has been an infiltration. Have you told anyone about these suspicions? Have you gone to Megure-kun?" He frowned at their silence and set faces. "You can't possibly think he's dirty," he glared angrily.

"Of course Megure-keibu is clean," Takagi spoke up vehemently in defense of their department head. "It's just…"

"We can't involve anyone else until we have solid evidence," Sato finished. "If we screw this up and we're wrong, no one else should have to lose their jobs because of us."

"So it's just you two against the world, huh?" He settled himself on the edge of his desk and motioned for them to take seats in the two chairs facing him. He waited to continue until they were both settled. "I know I spent most of my years on the force as a lab monkey but I hope you two will take the advice of veteran. You need a third, someone to act as a sleeper." He headed off Sato's protest before she could do more than open her mouth with an upheld hand. "In the event that you _are_ right, and anything goes wrong, you need someone who's aware of what you're investigating but who will stay uninvolved and off anyone's radar, preferably someone in the department who can be your extra eyes if you really think there's a mole in Division One."

"How can I possibly ask someone to take that kind of risk_?_!" Sato hissed quietly.

"Miwako, if anything happens to you two, whatever you've learned will be lost."

Sato glared stubbornly at the older man who held his position with equal stubbornness. Takagi nodded in agreement at the practicality of Towa's suggestion. "Uh… Sato-san," he cringed inwardly imagining how she might react, "Shiratori-san already found out we plan to continue investigating."

Sato glared at him for a moment before turning away with an exasperated sigh. She pinched the bridge of her nose at the coming headache. "Shiratori? Is he someone you can trust?" Towa asked in alarm.

"_When_, exactly, did he find out?" Sato demanded with the hint of a growl in her voice.

"…yesterday?" Takagi tried very hard not to flinch at her angry tone.

Sato gave him one last baleful glare before turning back to the older man. "Shiratori-kun is safe, don't worry. But we are _not_ using anyone at the department on this case," she said with finality. "It's just too obvious." She glanced over and caught Takagi's eye. "If _I_ were this unknown presence and found out two detectives were on to me, the first thing I would do after silencing them is check to see if they told any of their co-workers." She stared at Takagi until he gave an understanding nod.

"Thank you for helping on this, Towa-san," Sato smiled wearily turning back to him. "But it would be safest if no one knew we were here. Please destroy any notes you made and the tire remains I brought you. It would be too dangerous if someone found evidence you helped us." She picked up the jar of bullet fragments and tucked it into her jacket pocket. "We'll hold onto these," she smiled, standing up and giving her suit a few straightening tugs. "Let's go, Takagi-kun."

"Ah… un." A subdued Takagi got up to follow her after having brought down her anger twice in one day.

"Miwako," Towa called to them; Sato paused her hand on the doorknob. "Be careful, kiddo. If you're one tenth as stubborn as Masayoshi was, I know there's nothing I can do to stop you. Just… look out for each other, okay?"

Takagi gulped when Towa gave him a particularly strong look. Sato gave him an answering nod with a serious look of understanding before pushing the door open. She grabbed Takagi by the wrist and pulled him after her. He took several backward hops to keep his balance until he could turn around and walk next to her.

"He's going to be depressed now," Sato muttered softly, "after saying that to us. I never know what to say to him when he gets like that."

"After saying what?" Takagi asked confused.

"Towa-san was injured on duty during a bank robbery, three days before my father died," Sato said softly, still tugging Takagi behind her down the hallway. "I remember during the funeral, he told my mother it was his fault that my father died. That if he hadn't been hurt, my father wouldn't have been working the Shuushiro case without backup. It's why he transferred to forensics."

Takagi silently let her pull him along until they left the science building behind them. She didn't let go until they passed a group of giggling freshmen girls who apparently found a grown man being led by the hand through school by a woman his own age hilarious. Takagi had just managed to get his embarrassed blush under control when his cell phone started ringing insistently.

"Hello. This is Takagi," he said in an officious voice. He frowned as the whooshing noises coming over the line muffled whatever the caller said next. Takagi frowned in concentration, it seemed whoever was calling was standing in high winds. He gave a quick glance to the tall camphor trees rising above the buildings walling in the small faculty parking lot. The treetops, that he could see, were blowing violently in what had become a gusty partially overcast sky. He plugged his cell phone free ear with a finger in an attempt to hear better. "**I'm sorry but can you repeat yourself? I can barely hear you.**" Sato stopped and looked back from her position in the next aisle of the parking lot at his raised voice.

"Is this a… Detective Takagi Wataru?"

Takagi frowned in concentration at the muffled voice he could barely hear. "**Yes. Who am I speaking to?**"

"This is foreman Hamano Eiji. I'm the master electrician at Touto Tower. Is there any way you can send someone over here in the next twenty minutes? I think we may have found something."

Sato hitched an eyebrow in curiosity when Takagi hung up and she saw the look of hopeful determination on his face.

"They found something at the Tower," he said upping his pace to the car to a quick jog. "We have twenty minutes to get there."

Sato nodded and felt the corner of her mouth pulling into a smirk, picking up her pace to catch Takagi's lead. It was about time they had some kind of lead. She almost missed the flash of silver in the air reaching out to catch the keys Takagi had tossed her.

"You drive. We need to get there quickly," Takagi grinned at her. "Just don't strip my tires again."

"Your tires were already old that time," she tossed back pulling ahead of him and leading him by a length or two. They both laughed for the first time that day while jog turned to run in a race to the car.

* * *

"**HEY! You two can't be up here! This area's still closed to the general public**," a worker shouldering massive spools of cabling yelled down from the scaffolding erected on the roof of the special observatory. Other workers stopped to stare at the two out-of-place detectives from their tasks of repairing and replacing damaged broadcasting arrays. Sato flashed her badge at yet another worker who had shouted at them for trespassing.

"**Sorry ma'am!**" he called back turning back to his job of laying cable.

"Ma'am? Do I really look like a ma'am?" Sato hissed under her breath to Takagi while they climbed yet another set of stairs. Takagi knew well enough when not to answer and the high winds 250 meters above Shiba Park made a perfect excuse not to have heard her complaint.

They finally caught sight of a portly man in a hardhat barking orders over a megaphone to workers at the far end of a scaffold, calibrating a satellite dish.

"**Are you Hamano-san**?" Sato shouted over the winds holding her badge up.

"**You the detectives I just called?**" he replied over his bullhorn. Sato and Takagi nodded in favor of shouting back.

"**Follow me to my office**," he called back. "**You lot start wrapping things up!**" he shouted at the workers to a smattering of answering 'yes sir's'. The detectives followed him down narrow catwalks deeper into the center of the tower's infrastructure. The foreman opened the door to a metal-walled closet of an office barely large enough to hold the desk and filing cabinet filling it let alone three people.

"Sorry for the lack of space, officers," Hamano told them gruffly, following them in and dumping his megaphone on the messy desk. "They really weren't thinking of _comfort_ then they designed this place back in the '50s."

"It's not a problem," Sato assured him graciously. "Can I ask why you were so insistent we be here so quickly?"

"We're just about ready to close for the night," he answered squeezing past them and settling himself behind his desk.

"I thought the tower stayed open until 9:00pm," Takagi responded, copying Sato's position leaning against the metal wall, worn and burnished at shoulder height from decades of workers doing the same.

"During normal operating hours, sure. But we're still closed and under construction. Union rules say we get to be out 'o here by five," Hamano replied. "And please tell your co-workers I apologize for not waiting around. After twenty years of getting out of here at 9:30, I completely forgot about early closing when I called the first time."

"Co-workers?" Takagi asked.

"Yes…" he dug into his breast pocket pulling out a stack of grubby business cards. Takagi recognized the top one as his own. He recalled most of the detectives present the night of the attack had passed out contact information to every possible tower employee and press witness there that night. "…can't remember which one I called first, but he said he'd be here as quickly as he could and gave me an estimate of two hours. Once I remembered the new schedule, I just picked a different card."

"I see," Sato replied, pulling out her notebook ready to take notes. "So what was it you found?"

"Right," he muttered, running a hand through his thinning hair. "We first found out there was a problem the night after the attack. Nichiuri TV put in an order for a new 'panoramic' camera claiming that theirs wasn't broadcasting and must have been damaged during the attack. TV Tokyo and NHK put in requests for theirs after that and by the end of the week, every station running a 360 had put in requests for new ones."

"What's a 'pana-'… 'pano-'." Sato stopped after her second botched attempt at the English word.

"Sato-san, it's the camera that starts broadcasting after the station goes off the air at four in the morning and shows circular views of the city," Takagi whispered. Sato nodded in understanding.

"I had my boys check out each of the station's cameras but, by some miracle, none of them were damaged," Hamura continued once Takagi had finished his explanation. "By the time we checked and tested each unit, took us a few days you know, the boys downstairs in security had reached tape change day… They change out the security tapes once a week and review it before they get archived for three months," he added when Sato looked confused again. Takagi simply nodded his head, well used to the ways of a/v procedures. "They came complaining to us because all they had was a week's worth of static, from each and every security camera in the tower."

He yanked a ring of keys off his belt and leaned over to unlock a drawer in his filing cabinet. "My team had to drop everything and run down every cable in this damn tower until we found… this." He pulled out a sleek black laptop that he dropped on his desk a little more roughly than Takagi liked, reaching out with an arrested sound of dismay for the abused computer.

"We found this hardwired into the main bus system this afternoon. Whoever did the job knew what they were doing. Every video feed active in the tower was running through it," he muttered. Sato and Takagi eyed the laptop with greedy eyes. Sato squeezed her arms in her arm-crossed position to keep from snatching up the laptop and hugging it.

"Afraid you won't be getting any prints from it," Hamano continued, blind to the thinly contained joy in the detectives in front of him. "Half of my department handled the thing when we detached it."

"That's alright," Takagi grinned, gingerly picking up the device and cradling it like he was handling fragile spun glass. "We're more interested with what's inside it."

"Right, glad to have it off my hands," Hamano muttered. Sato and Takagi offered polite thanks and were side-stepping across the narrow path to the door when Hamano spoke up again. "Of course, thanks to this thing, those security tapes we had to turn in to you are worthless. Static or not, it would save us money if you could return those so we can tape over them once the tower's up and running again. With all the money we've had to waste fixing things around here, we'd appreciate it if we can have those returned."

"A-Ah, I-I'll definitely tell the Inspector to see what we can do about that," Takagi replied with a polite smile.

"Thank you for calling us, we appreciate it," Sato joined in with her most charming smile while pushing Takagi out the door ahead of her. "Have a nice night."

She firmly shut the door and kept pushing Takagi down the catwalk until they were out of earshot from the foreman's office. "Umm… Sato-san?" Takagi ventured when Sato finally had enough room to pass him and haul him behind her by her hold on his upper arm.

"Shh!" she ordered in a tight voice of thinly restrained excitement. "Talk in the car!" Takagi caught her excitement hugging the laptop to his chest protectively as they whisked away what might be the only piece of physical evidence for the attack left in police custody.

/

"Pass it over. You've been hugging the thing since you got it," Sato ordered holding her hands out expectantly.

Takagi reluctantly passed her the heavy laptop. "There's really nothing you can do with it until we plug it in," he pointed out with the hint of a pout watching Sato reverently run a hand over the etched lettering on top of the laptop.

"I know, I just want to hold it," she answered with a giddy grin. "This is just the break we needed."

"Not if it gets confiscated along with everything else," Takagi sighed in frustration, depression quickly replacing his high. "It's just going to be taken away from us the second we book it in to evidence."

"Then we'll just have to _not_ do that," Sato grinned wickedly. "They can't confiscate what they don't know we have."

"Sato-san," Takagi frowned. "It's not going to work. That guy already called someone else before us. If it's someone from the department, we'll have no choice but to turn it in. If it's Megure-keibu or Shiratori-keibu, they would never approve of hiding evidence, even if they don't agree with what's going on. Chiba we could convince if we tell him what we've found out, but I can tell you for a fact he couldn't keep a secret if his life depended on it."

Sato frowned, coming off her finder's high. "You're right. I hadn't thought of that." They sat in silence, each contemplating the situation. "You know," Sato finally spoke up, "We might just get away with it if it was one of the detectives from a different prefecture." Takagi raised an eyebrow ready to listen. "If we convince them that we'll take care of logging it in to evidence since we got to it first, they'll just go home and no one at the department will ever have to know."

"So it all comes down to waiting here and see who shows up?" Takagi sighed. "I hope it's Yokomizu, the older one, who shows."

Sato gave him a light punch in the arm. "That's mean, Takagi-kun," she admonished. "…I hope it's Yamamura," she finally added. They caught each others eye and grinned at each other, the high of finding their possible break in the case creeping back up. "Maybe we should just put the car in gear and make a run for it," she finally mumbled settling herself more comfortably in the passenger seat.

"Lets just wait a while longer before we discuss going on the lam," Takagi answered nervously at the hint of seriousness he detected in Sato's suggestion.

"Fine," she answered in mock pout, lowering her seat to lie down with the laptop still hugged to her chest.

/

Sato was hovering between wake and light sleep when she felt an insistent hand shaking her shoulder. She sat up slowly rubbing her eyes in the direct sunlight facing her from the sun's new position just hovering over the tops of the skyscrapers. "What is it?" she asked Takagi who was diligently keeping watch over the near empty parking lot.

"We might be out of luck," he said softly gazing out the windshield.

Sato followed his gaze to see two people standing next to a blue car arguing, a woman… and a man leaning heavily on a crutch.

"Damn it," she hissed tucking the laptop safely under her seat. "We may need to do some quick talking. He'll definitely put up a fight for it." Satisfied the laptop was hidden, she gave Takagi a fierce look of determination. "Lets get this over with," she said popping the door.

Following her lead, Takagi climbed out of the car and trailed after her.

/

"Didn't I tell you to use the siren so we could get here faster," Inspector Yamato growled. "How are we supposed to get it now?" he fumed gesturing to the empty parking lot with his crutch.

"You can't just abuse that whenever you want to speed. And it might not have even made a difference. We don't know what time they actually closed," his partner, Detective Uehara reasoned calmly. Yamato held up a hand to silence her when he noticed they were no longer alone in the parking lot.

"Yamato-keibu, Uehara-keiji, what are you two doing in Tokyo?" Sato asked cheerfully, walking up to the arguing pair, "I'm afraid the tower's still closed if you came sight-seeing."

"Cut the crap, little miss, we both know why we're here," Yamato growled positively fuming, "If you think I'm gong to let Tokyo have this piece of evidence after they've already confiscated every file the Nagano precinct has on this, you're crazy. We had first dibs." Behind him, Uehara dropped her forehead into her hand in defeat at his rude outburst.

Takagi frowned at his angry tirade against Sato and stepped up to say something… unkind… back when Sato placed a calming hand on his shoulder. He glanced at her recognizing the sharp focus in her eyes, she had noticed something he had missed.

"Are you saying your department had its files and evidence confiscated too?" she asked, the picture of calm against Yamato's temper.

"Yes! And Tokyo had **no right** to demand…" Yamato trailed off, his eyes widening in understanding.

Beside him, Uehara Yui narrowed her eyes at Sato. "Are you saying your department had its evidence taken too?" she asked crossing her arms and moving to stand next to Yamato in solid Nagano unity.

"Taken and classified," Sato confirmed, sizing them both up and coming to a quick decision.

"Hmph. They tried sending out some memo about this mess being classified," Yamato grumbled. "Idiots."

"Kan-chan," Uehara muttered in soft warning as her partner's complaints bordered on insubordination.

"So what were you planning on doing with this 'evidence' after you got it?" Sato asked Yamato point blank. "You'd only wind up having to ship it back to Tokyo once you logged it. May as well let us take it and save you the shipping cost," she said lightly with a flippant shrug.

"You would let them bury the only clue we have so far to what happened that night on some shelf, off limits and collecting dust_!_?" he muttered angrily. "What kind of detectives are you_?_!"

"Well, orders are orders," Sato replied watching him with a sharp gleam in her eyes. "Protocol has to be followed." Behind her, Takagi silently watched the two face off, trusting Sato had a reason behind her antagonizing the angry detective.

Yamato glared at the pair of Beika-cho detectives. "…There's no way I could convince you to let us have whatever they found here, just for a few days, before sending it to be filed?" he ground out the plea with gruff seriousness forcing his emotions under control.

"It sounds to me like you want time to investigate against orders," Sato countered with a firm frown.

"You're damn straight!" he shot back quickly glaring openly at Sato. Sato held his gaze, refusing to back down.

"Kan-chan!" Uehara exclaimed in alarm at her partner's quick admittance to illegal intent.

"If they report me, I'll gladly take a demotion or pink slip or whatever they give me," he growled at her. "I've had enough of this insanity. I'd rather be fired for trying to do my job than be part of this 'look the other way' ploy."

Sato held his glare a while longer until she was satisfied he had no intention of backing down. "Glad to hear it," she finally said cracking a smile and breaking the tense mood. "This makes things much easier," she grinned recklessly at Takagi standing behind her.

Takagi peeked at the two confused detectives now eyeing them oddly in trepidation. "Sato-san, are you seriously suggesting bringing them 'in'," he asked in a hushed voice. "We don't know if they're 'safe.' What if they're part of the unknown group_?_!"

"I have a good feeling about this," she insisted. "I had a good feeling about them during the Mahjong case, too."

"And _why_ is that?" Takagi hissed, unnerved by the baleful one-eyed glare Yamato was sending them.

Sato smiled at him and turned back to Yamato and his partner watching their private conversation cautiously. "Yamato-keibu, if you don't mind my asking something off topic, if you had a choice in who to have on an investigation, would you rather have Mouri-san's help or Conan-kun's?" she asked with a cheerful smile that almost twinkled. "Answer honestly now."

Yamato narrowed his eye at her seemingly bipolar mood shift. "The brat," he muttered. "Hands down."

"See," Sato grinned at Takagi.

"You're basing your 'good feeling' on that_?_!" he muttered, slumping his shoulders in defeat.

Sato nodded back earnestly. "Yes, he gave me that kind of feeling," she replied happily.

"Now what exactly are you playing at?" Yamato cut in loudly, drawing their attention. He crossed his arms and sat back against the hood of their car in defiant protest, "What do you really want? Because _I_get the feeling the two of you are toying with us." He directed his last statement at Sato who just smiled like the cat who ate the canary under his withering glare.

"I apologize for making you angry," Sato answered without an inch of remorse, "But we had to make sure we knew where _you_ stand because _we_ had no intention at all of turning in what we found."

Yamato and Uehara stared at her in surprise, looking to Takagi and back at Sato again in shock. Behind her, Takagi folded his arms and tried to give the impression of solidarity with his partner despite the blush dusting his nose for being gawked at.

"No inten…" Uehara gasped at them. "You were feeling us out!" she exclaimed.

"Ah…sorry about that," Takagi replied politely over Sato's shoulder, he gave the back of his head a sheepish rub, "but we _are_ discussing violating orders and risking our jobs." He twitched slightly at the once-over Yamato gave him.

Sato gave the empty parking lot a sweeping search, shivering in the sharpening wind of early evening. Their two lone cars in the large parking lot suddenly felt awfully conspicuous. "It seems like we have a lot to discuss," she said sharply cutting into Takagi's apologies. "But we may want to find some place less _public_ to do it in." She gave a nod to the tall lights spotlighting them for every car on the highway to see. Yamato and Uehara took their own looks around and nodded in hesitating agreement.

Sato sighed, after misleading the two Nagano detectives to assure herself of their loyalties, it seemed it might take longer than usual to gain their trust.

"Where can we find a place to talk that won't draw attention?" Uehara asked politely.

"Should we rent a room?" Yamato asked grudgingly.

"Takagi-kun, how about your place?" Sato asked suddenly.

"Eh_?_!" Takagi looked up in surprise.

"You live alone, don't you? And you have what you need to work on 'the item' there, right?" she pressed. Takagi nodded obediently. "Good," she continued, pulling out her police notebook and writing a swift scribble. "Here," she said tearing the page out and handing it to Yamato, "This is the address. Meet there in twenty minutes. That'll give us time to pick up my car from work," she added when Yamato gave her a suspicious look.

"Fine," Yamato agreed pushing off the car and steadying himself with his crutch. "Twenty minutes," he muttered crossing to the passenger side of the car. Uehara followed suit following her partner into the car. Takagi and Sato stood back as they turned the engine and took off, leaving them in the empty parking lot.

"Do you think they'll actually show up?" Takagi asked watching the car turn onto the street.

"Un. They're too curious not to," Sato replied watching them leave. "Lets go. They'll be suspicious if they get there first and we're not around. They might think we set them up and are trying to turn them in." She turned and walked back to Takagi's car, trusting him to follow behind. She waited deep in thought leaning against the side of the vehicle waiting patiently until Takagi unlocked the doors.

"…You really think bringing them in is a good idea?" Takagi asked some time later while they drove down the expressway to the station.

"…I do," Sato said finally. "I hate to agree with him, but Towa-san is right. We need some kind of insurance. And Nagano is far enough away that if we make sure no one in the department connects them to us, they'll be out of harm's way if we're discovered."

Takagi frowned, "It would be unfair if we didn't tell them everything so they know how potentially dangerous working with us might be. Think it might scare them off?"

"No," Sato replied with a tight smile. "I don't think much of anything will scare Yamato-keibu off. And Uehara-keiji will side with whatever he decides."

"You're sure about that," Takagi replied with a grin, more statement than question.

Sato just grinned back, settling into her seat for the ride back. She pulled out her notebook to review her notes from the mahjong case and tower incident. "It's too bad we don't have any of the write-ups Shiratori-san handed out during the Mahjong case," she muttered with a sigh. "I wrote my notes too haphazardly because we had all those sheets during our meetings." She shoved her notebook in her pocket and bit on her nail in concentration. "Can I read through yours?" she finally asked. "I want all my facts in order when we explain what we've learned so far to those two." Takagi handed her his notebook absently. She was engrossed in deciphering Takagi's tiny handwriting when he gave a sudden exclamation making her jump in surprise.

"Sato-san, we _do_ still have a copy of those papers!" he exclaimed.

"Eh? I thought you turned in everything you had yesterday? Same as me."

"All those papers Shiratori-san gave us, I turned them into pdf's on my laptop," Takagi replied.

"Your department-issued laptop? You turned that in to inventory yesterday along with everyone else who had one checked out to be deleted," Sato reminded him. "Everyone's files from that case are gone."

Takagi grinned that boyish grin of his he had when he knew something she didn't. "My laptop's special. The guys in inventory always reserve and give me the same one. I told them it was my lucky one because the serial number had my mother's birthday in it." Sato raised her eyebrow skeptically. "The truth is, I cracked the password for the admin login my first month on the force. I've added a few… hidden programs… on that laptop. One of them is a recovery program for recently deleted files. I, sort of, deleted a few things by accident when I was new to the force," he added noticing she was giving him that _look_ she always did when he rambled about computers too much.

"The point is, we can recover the files for the case. Everyone was supposed to get their laptops returned today," he finished.

"So you're going to do it tomorrow?" she asked looking confused. "We aren't allowed to take department computers out of the building, remember."

"You can do it," Takagi replied. "You're going to be there getting your car keys from your desk anyway, right?"

"Takagi-kun, I don't know how to work computers beyond typing my reports," she exclaimed.

"You'll be fine," Takagi assured her, turning into the Beika Police Department parking garage. "I'll write down the instructions on how to do it. And it's late, there won't be many people on duty for the nightshift."

Sato sighed in defeat. "Alright," she mumbled with a complete lack of confidence.

/

Sato sighed in relief when she opened the door to an empty Division One. The sound of laughter and distant conversation told her everyone from the evening shift was currently on break at the snack machine alcove. She slipped over to Takagi's desk where his recently returned laptop sat on his desk waiting for her with a tacky orange sticker marking what the department's I.T. department had done to it.

"Okay, lets get this over with," she mumbled to herself sitting down in Takagi's chair. She glanced down at the cheat sheet he had made for her in her hand. She blushed bright crimson when it came time to input his user password. She gave a furtive glance around the room to reassure herself she really was alone… and typed in her first name. The computer's screen sprung to life and she spent a few minutes getting her blush under control before continuing with his list of instructions.

She followed Takagi's instructions to the hidden folder holding all the programs he had added and obediently followed his written aside to set the window in list mode so no one walking by could see what was in the folder easily.

And she was forced to admit Takagi had been right about the program being ridiculously easy to use. A single click on the toggle reading 'search deleted files' and she was looking at a list of file names. Within seconds she was watching icon after icon appear on the desktop while the program did its job. A quick search through his desk and she found the small black usb device from his instructions.

The sudden swing of the room's doors and accompanying loud voices had her lowering the laptop's screen to a sharper angle and pulling the computer close, hiding the screen with her body. Sato watched the blue bar tick closer to full while keeping a wary eye on the room out of her peripheral vision. The transfer blinked complete and she carefully re-deleted the data with no one the wiser.

"MIWAKOOO!"

Sato tensed guiltily and slammed the laptop closed before anyone could see it scant seconds before an enthusiastic Yumi draped herself across her shoulders.

"You naughty girl, I never knew you had it in you to be so daring. Where's Takagi-kun hiding? I _have_ to see how badly he'll blush over this," Yumi giggled.

"What _are_ you talking about?" Sato asked in a fluster. She yanked the usb from the computer and closed a hasty fist over the stick.

"Eeeh? Well aren't you cozy in someone else's desk," Yumi smirked wickedly. "Just what else are you two sharing?" Sato blinked, completely at a loss for what Yumi was implying. "But Miwaaa-chaaaan, I know you're not the best at girl time but you should have told me! I thought we were best friends!" Yumi whined.

"I really have no idea what you're talking about," Sato muttered crossing her arms high on her chest. Ever so sneakily, she slipped the usb to her fingers and tucked it into her bra.

"It's all over the department by now thanks to that email. Such naughty pics," Yumi giggled. She leaned closer to whisper. "You two were making out in the snack machine room this morning."

Sato shivered at the chill that ran down her back. The hallways had been empty that morning, she was sure of it. Before she could stop herself, she was out of Takagi's seat and running for the squad room doors. "Umm… that's right… I guess you caught us," Sato called over her shoulder.

Yumi grinned watching her startled friend run off. "About time you two were serious. I better change my proposal date in Chiba-kun's betting pool."

/

Sato ran until she reached the corner alcove from that morning. She stared at the corner between the wall and the coffee machine the two of them had hidden in. Carefully, she sidestepped until she found the perfect angle that would have given the appearance of something untoward in their meeting. She wound up in line with the outside edge of the coffee machine where the bushy decorative tree she caught her skirt on every time she came for coffee got in her way.

Pausing only to pull her gloves on, Sato dug into the foliage running her fingers up and down the branches. Her fingers soon ran into something smooth and metallic. She yanked the device from where it was loosely tied to the branch and almost threw it to the floor to meet the bottom of her heel before she thought better of it. Instead, she walked up to a vending machine and paid for a bottled water. Setting the tiny camera down on the dirt of the potted plant, she poured her water over it until she heard a small satisfying electrical sizzle. Pocketing the camera, she forced herself to walk at a normal pace and avoided eye contact with anyone until she reached the parking garage. Alone in the concrete structure, she ran the whole way to her car.

* * *

Takagi, Yamato, and Uehara looked up in surprise when Sato rushed in the door and slammed it shut behind her. She stayed facing the door, her hands flat on the wood raking in deep heaving breaths.

"Uh… Sato-san? Are you okay?" Takagi asked, picking himself up off his spot on the floor. "You were late getting back so I went ahead and explained what we have so far. Umm… Sato-san…"

Sato got enough control over herself to quickly bolt every lock on Takagi's door and slide the door chain in place before turning to face everyone. She pulled the usb from its hiding place down her blouse and dropped it in Takagi's hand too oblivious to notice his furious blush and sank down boneless on his couch burying her face in her hands, one hand still clenched tight.

"Um… are you alright, Sato-keiji?" Uehara asked, moving to sit next to her.

"Yes. Fine," Sato managed to get out in a trembling voice. She took several steadying breaths while the three occupants of the room gathered around her. She looked up at Takagi taking tight hold of one his arms, both to get his attention and steady herself. "We were right. The department's been infiltrated and whoever it is has us targeted and under surveillance."

Takagi held her piercing and still slightly terrified gaze and took a deep breath of his own. "You found proof," he stated simply, covering her hand gripping him with his free hand.

Sato nodded quietly. "Whoever it was knows we had that talk this morning. They caught us on camera," she spat out now that her anger at being spied on was superceding her fear. She refrained from telling him the entire department had glimpsed their private conversation that morning.

"On camera?" Yamato frowned next to Takagi. "Someone planted illegal surveillance equipment in your department_?_!"

"I found it," Sato continued. "It was in one of the fake plants."

"Let me see it," Takagi asked holding his hand out. He mentally crossed his fingers hoping against hope the device had come from the department and they had only been spied upon by her fan club. His hopes were dashed as he turned the sleek little camera in his fingers. "It's expensive. More than the department spends on its equipment." He frowned running his thumb over the tiny pin-holes in the front facing. "This thing runs video and audio; it's pretty high grade. We may have been heard."

"We at least know we were seen," Sato frowned, "And whoever set that up _wanted_ us to know that."

The other three in the room exchanged tense looks. Yamato sighed and sat heavily in a chair opposite Sato and gave a low whistle. "You two really have stumbled on something big."

"We'll understand if you want to go back to Nagano and forget you've heard any of this," Sato said quietly, catching both his and Uehara's eye in turn. "This case may wind up being larger than we can handle."

"No offense, but I happen to like the dangerous ones," Yamato said tapping his cheek just under the scar crossing his eye. "And it looks like you two are going to need all the help you can get." He looked at his partner. "It'll probably be safer if you head back though, Uehara."

Uehara Yui arched an eyebrow with a very un-amused look on her face. "With all due respect, _Yamato-keibu_, not on your life."

Yamato let a rakish grin spread across his face at the expected reaction. "Well, there you have it," he grinned at the two Tokyo detectives. "Now how about we stop wasting time and you tell us what it was they found in that tower."

"Thank you." Sato gave a grateful smile of relief and let go of Takagi. She smiled to Takagi giving him a nod letting him know she was all right. Takagi gave her a smile in return and slipped away to his bedroom where he had stashed the laptop. "Let's get started," she said with regained determination. "It's going to be a long night."

_~Fin~_

/

/

AN:

I've been lazy this month about my writing. I can't deny it. Got side-tracked with various projects and making my costume for Akon 2010 this year. I had to do a lot of running all over the state hunting down costume bits. Do you know it's next to impossible to find white top hats? Such a pain in the ass. Oh well, it was a good lesson. Next time I'll start hunting earlier.

On that note, for this chapter I bought an encyclopedia of military arms of the 20th century at Barnes and Evil at the mall so I could research the B.O.'s choice of weapons…and then was dragged around by my brother's girlfriend and her friend so they could shop for girly stuff. Unfortunately the alarm system B&N uses is at odds with the alarm systems of EVERY OTHER STORE IN THE MALL. Every time I entered or left a store I set off the alarm and they had to check my bag, which was full of manga… and this giant book of military grade rifles all over the cover. I got so many weird looks I wasn't sure if it was embarrassing or funny as hell. I must have freaked out a good dozen store employees. sigh

Oh yeah, and for thems in the south or heading that way, see you at A-Kon 2010!

/

/

/

* * *

To: Agent xxxxxxxx

From: Base #xxx

Time: 0800 hrs

Summary: Hostage Prime expected viability two weeks. Operation to follow. Expect update soon. Agent xxx to head operation, contact Agent xxx for details.

New orders are as follows:

Identify: Involved persons to make first contact with Hostage Prime during previous operation.

Request: Said person's method of discovery of Hostage Prime.

Report: Requested person's identities to Agent xxx for immediate removal.

Identify: Officer, FBI Agent, or otherwise involved in return fire on bird. _High Priority_.

Request: Possibility of involvement, proof of mortality of Moboroshi Dai aka Shuichi Akai. Mask search from xxx until Shuichi Akai is eliminated as possible suspect.

Report: Person's identity to Agent xxx. Shadow person once identified. Orders to follow.

End of report.

* * *

/

/

/


	6. Chapter 4

Disclaimer – not mine. Movie-verse and Anime-verse.

/

/

**Chapter 4**

/

He regretted swimming back to consciousness, as patchy as it was. His senses felt dull, fuzzy, and opening his eyes took more strength than he had. The first thing he felt was that his throat was on fire. He swallowed hard hoping to soothe the pain and groaned aloud at how badly that didn't work.

A cool hand was caressing his burning forehead in an instant and he forgot himself enough to make a small sound of appreciation. His hands were at his throat instantly in an impotent attempt to soothe a pain he couldn't reach. The hand at his face left and he couldn't stop himself from whimpering before an arm wedged gently under his shoulders and lifted him from his warm bubble in the sheets into the biting cold air. He shivered uncontrollably and opened his mouth gratefully to the glass held to his mouth. Water had never tasted so wonderful to his abused throat. He followed the glass with a miserable whine when it was pulled away and finished the glass in a single draught when it was brought right back.

The phantom hands lowered him back to the bed and pulled sheets gone cold over him tightly. All he could do was pull himself into a tight ball for warmth between violent shivers. Sleep pulled at him and he let himself drift back into unconsciousness while that same comforting cool hand stroked through his hair.

/

When he next woke, it was the feel of something cold and metallic on his chest that jerked him awake in a panic of delirious flailing. A strong arm gathered his wrists and tried to pin him flat to the bed and he was aware that someone was speaking in hurried rush tones. He fought desperately against what felt remarkably like a gun muzzle before those gentle hands were on him again stroking through his hair and a voice he trusted before all others was whispering calming words he couldn't quite catch.

His fear drained, he slumped limply to the bed lacking the strength or energy to keep up his fight. He allowed his body to be manipulated by the stranger like an oversized rag doll. The metallic coldness was once again dragged across his chest under his shirt… and then again across his back after being pulled into a sitting position. The mystery person with gentle arms drew him into a lap and he squirmed deeper for warmth while various objects with varying degrees of cold surfaces were placed in his mouth or ears. He nearly gagged when something long was forced deep enough in his mouth to touch the back of his throat and likely would have if the very idea hadn't made his raw throat hurt so much.

The arms around him drew him close and away from the forced manipulation and he grabbed on with what feeble strength he could with hands that could barely draw a fist.

"…fever… 40.3C… delirium… call me immediately… reaches 40.5… hospital."

His mind tried to process what conversation he could make out with the speed and sharpness of a snail crawling across super glue when he was startled by a sharp pain in his arm. He attempted an abortive flail before his arms were held still and his searching hands held well away from the hypodermic needle. Upon the needle leaving, he felt himself rocked back into a lulling lethargic drowsy daze.

/

Ran drew Conan tighter in her arms while Araide-sensei repacked his stethoscope. She blushed in embarrassment when she realized he was examining the long red scratch marks Conan had left down his arms during his flailing. "I'm so sorry, sensei. I don't know what came over him to fight you like that."

"Not to worry Ran-san. It comes with the territory when dealing with delirious patients," Araide-sensei answered her with a calming smile. "I doubt he even recognizes me at the moment." He eyed her nervous worry carefully before drawing out a bottle of clear medicine and hypodermic needle. "You were right to call me, Ran-san. A fever of 40.3C is dangerously high, especially if it's resulting in delirium. He could have been in danger of a seizure if it got much higher." He filled the syringe and held it upside down, flicking at it with a deft finger to gather all the air bubbles at the mouth of the hub. "I'm going to give him something to help break his fever but if you don't see a drop in the next two hours, call me immediately. And if his fever climbs any higher or he reaches 40.5C at all, he'll need to be admitted to the hospital."

Ran nodded her understanding and hugged him close. She was slightly surprised when Conan squirmed deeper into her arms. Until his recent bout of clinginess, Conan had always been a little standoffish to any affection on her part often with loud protests and embarrassed blushes. Of course, Conan had never been this sick before. But now he was almost cuddling in his delirious attempt to escape the doctor's prodding. She watched the doctor approach with the loaded syringe. "He'll be alright, will he?" she asked in need of reassurance.

Araide smiled at her while he swabbed Conan's arm. "I'm almost completely sure it's a simple case of strep throat, although I usually don't see cases this severe or sudden. Most children show more signs of illness before getting this bad. Has he been under stress lately?"

Ran was almost as surprised as Araide when tears suddenly started dropping onto her arms and burying themselves in Conan's sleep-mussed hair. "I'll take that as a yes then," he answered giving her an encouraging pat on the head. He firmly jabbed the needle into Conan's arm with a well-practiced hand and almost lost his grip when the child he thought had fallen unconscious again began to flail.

Ran gulped back her tears and hugged Conan's arms back down against his body allowing Araide to finish administering the shot. He fought Ran's hold scratching and clawing like he had against Araide earlier. Curled around him, Ran caught snippets of curses and epithets against someone named Jin, words a child of seven shouldn't possibly know and would have had him grounded for months any other day, and desperate cries of her own name sans suffix. All she could do was rock him and murmur calming words that everything would be okay. He calmed slowly before finally dropping off into unconsciousness.

Araide drew her desk chair close to her bed and sat patiently waiting for her to begin. "I think he's probably had a fever for the last few days," she finally started. "He kept insisting he was fine, and I knew he wasn't, but I let him convince me because he's just been so strange since the attack at…" She stopped her rambling with a start staring at Araide's wide eyes.

"He was present. At the Touto Tower Disaster," he concluded aloud.

Ran nodded slowly in confirmation. "I… wasn't supposed to say that. Sato-keiji told me not to say Conan-kun and I were involved."

"Believe me, I understand what getting caught up in a large-scale investigation is like," Araide smiled musing on his own stint in protective custody. "I won't tell a soul. Doctor-patient confidentiality and all."

Reassured, Ran continued with a look of concentration as she gathered her worries of the last week and a half. "He has terrible nightmares; every night he wakes up screaming and he comes to sleep on the floor in my room. Except for school, he won't let me go anywhere without him."

"Would you say he only feels assured of your safety if he has you in sight?" Araide asked carefully. In all honesty, psychology was not his forte but the odd members of the Mouri family had earned a special place in his heart, especially the child they cared for with eyes too wise for his age.

"That's it. That's it exactly," Ran answered in surprise. She hadn't quite thought of it in that light but things made such clear sense now.

Araide clasped his hands together between his legs and hunched forward to study the sick boy in Ran's lap. When he usually saw Conan with his friends or on a case, he always seemed so much older and mature than his friends, rather like the light-haired serious girl, but without his glasses and clad in pajamas he seemed very small. "Do you think he would be the type to say anything to you if he believed you were in danger?"

"No," Ran muttered wiping a stray tear from her eyes. "He's too much like Shinichi. I'm sure Conan-kun thinks he can protect anyone all by himself. They're stubborn idiots the both of them." She couldn't hide the wry smile that touched her lips. "Araide-sensei, do you think something happened that night that would make him think I was in danger?"

"I'm not the one who can answer that for you, Ran-san," he replied gently looking at Conan meaningfully. He clapped his hands down on his knees and hefted himself back to his feet. "For now, lets just concentrate on getting him healthy. I need to run his strep test so I can get antibiotics to you as soon as possible. I'll call you in thirty minutes with the results."

"Of course. Thank you for coming on such short notice sensei. And in the middle of the night too," Ran answered, ever polite, and walked him to the door after tucking Conan back into her bed.

"I believe 2:30 counts as morning," Araide smiled politely. "I'll be back once I know which antibiotics to start him on."

/

When she returned to her room, she had changed into a pair of pajamas. Conan had curled himself into a bundle in the far corner of her bed against the wall. After discussing the attack with Araide-sensei, she could only interpret Conan's huddled form, back flush to the wall and arms wrapped around his tucked legs between her and his body as a defensive posture. She climbed in and drew close to his fever-chilled body and carefully pulled him into her arms. If he decided to fight her in his delirious state like he had during Araide-sensei's examination she wouldn't be able to avoid his kicking the way the doctor had been able to.

But Conan didn't fight her, and allowed her to draw him limply out of his burrow against the wall and against her body warmth. He mumbled something but all she could make out was her name, again missing any suffix. She debated with herself a few moments, listening to his rasping breath, before drawing him close. "Conan-kun?" she whispered softly.

"…hmm?…" he responded.

She chewed at her lip guiltily before continuing. "Do you think I'm in danger?" she asked directly.

"…mm-hmm…" he sighed softly.

"Because of Touto Tower?" she asked. Again he affirmed her question.

"Is it because of someone named Jin?" she asked quietly. Conan didn't answer but shuddered violently in her arms. She caught the tense agitated change in his breathing. "Did someone named Jin threaten you, Conan-kun?"

"…don't… dangerous…" he protested winding himself up for a renewed session of flailing. "Stay away… her! …run!"

"Shh, shh. It's okay Conan-kun," Ran murmured trapping his limbs with hers before he could hurt either of them. "I'm sorry, I won't ask anymore. Just calm down." She hugged him tight until he couldn't move and his delirious nightmares passed into deep sleep. "Conan-kun… what have you been hiding from me?" she whispered quietly into his hair while she curled around him.

* * *

Kogoro leaned against the kitchen counter with a deep heavy yawn. He was on his third round of coffee and definitely in need of a fourth. His exhausted eyes watched Dr. Araide and his pajama clad daughter scurry about the apartment as they had been since his ward's return and collapse at 1:30 in the morning. From his nook in the kitchen, where he had been ordered to by his daughter for being underfoot one time too many, he listened to the two discuss dosages.

He probably could have caught a few hours sleep like his daughter had in between the young doctor's visits, but resurrected memories of his first experience with the childhood plague known as measles and a precious heart-faced little girl's midnight spiriting to the emergency room for a fever out of control had kept him wide awake for the last five hours. Like that night so long ago, he had fallen into the rhythm of stealing into his daughter's room every fifteen minutes, child thermometer in hand, to reassure himself that the brat's fever really was going down.

He swirled the dregs of his cup of coffee and stared into his cup frowning. The kid had always been a handful the last year and a half and was prone to wander off into the city with his friends but he failed to imagine what a second grader was doing running about Tokyo at one in the morning. That super powered menace the kid rode on was now securely locked in a footlocker in the closet of his office after the young doctor had nearly killed himself tripping over it. He resolved himself that as soon as the boy was well enough to understand the words 'grounded for life' he would be setting some ground rules about curfews.

Watching Ran bid goodbye to Dr. Araide, he pulled a spare cup from the drying rack behind him and filled a second cup. Silently, he held it out to his approaching daughter eyeing the stubborn set of her chin, a habit she'd picked up from her mother.

Gratefully, Ran took a long drink, too exhausted to complain when she found drinking coffee black too bitter and joined her father leaning against the counter and watching the dawning sunlight filter into the apartment through the window blinds.

"I'm staying home," she finally said, breaking the silence.

"I know," Kogoro sighed, taking a drink of his own.

"I'm staying home until he's well," she continued softly but insistently.

"Fine," Kogoro muttered knowing well when he was defeated. Together, an exhausted father and daughter watched the sunrise.

* * *

"No! You are **not** talking with him right now. He's in no condition to talk to you, especially about **that**!"

Conan opened his eyes with instant alert at the anxious tone of Ran's voice. The energy rush left just as quickly leaving him too fuzzy to focus on the female voice arguing with Ran. '_Was Eri over?_' But he _could_ focus on a very important realization. He was alone in the room.

He squinted at the closed window that felt absolutely miles away from Ran's bed. It took far too much effort to lift the mountain of blankets off in order to move and he felt their loss immediately. The violent tremors of shivering made him gasp but he forced himself to the edge and slid off the side… where his legs betrayed him by dropping him unceremoniously to the carpet on his knees. The world slid sickeningly to the side and he stared down at the carpet unwilling to look up at Ran's wobbling desk and bookshelf that by all rights should be sliding across the room and into her door if his eyes, and the laws of physics, were to be obeyed. He dug his fingers into the carpet and held on tightly.

It took him a moment to realize half the problem was he was rocking back and forth to his own pounding pulse in his head. He swallowed hard, closing his eyes against his dizziness and crawled in the direction his memory, not his vision, knew the window to be in.

It took several minutes as even his arms conspired to drop him on the carpet as many times as possible before his head made contact a little too abruptly with the wall. His hands followed the wall up to the sill and hauled himself up before opening his eyes again. Snowflake paced back and forth on the concrete sill beyond the glass and it was now that he remembered that his last box of pocky was in his school bag in the living room.

Between curses, he fought the window open every desperate inch. He could only hope that by now, the bird was familiar enough with him to let herself be handled without her usual bribe.

The chilly air made him shake so hard he couldn't even hold his hand out fully to beckon the bird to him. Snowflake danced just in and out of reach, enjoying this new game of 'duck the wavering hand' when Conan heard a loud gasp behind him.

"Conan-kun!"

He turned his head in surprise to the door, a mistake, and promptly met carpet again with his head reeling from the too quick movement.

Warm hands lifted him from his crumple and he stared in confusion at Takagi's worried expression still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was somehow magically five feet off the ground instead of staring at polyester inch-high pile.

"You're too sick to have the window open, Conan-kun. You'll make yourself worse," Takagi scolded with all the sternness of a mother hen. He settled the boy's light weight on one arm while easily shutting the window with his free hand. Upon seeing his hard fought six inches of open window destroyed, Conan slumped with a dashed expression against the detective.

Takagi cupped his hand over Conan's forehead and frowned at the heat coming from the boy's clammy skin. He lifted Conan's chin forcing him to meet his eyes. Conan's eyes swam dizzily until he shut them with a miserable moan.

"Conan-kun? Do you think you can answer some questions?" Takagi asked softly, brushing the damp bangs back away from his face. The words were heard long before Conan understood them and he struggled to keep his eyes open and focus on Takagi's worried face above him.

"Huh?" his fever-addled brain supplied helpfully.

Above him, Takagi smiled gently and ran a cool hand through his hair. "It's alright Conan-kun. It can wait until you feel better."

Takagi tucked him back in bed and quietly left the room. In the seconds the door was open he could hear Ran and what he now figured was probably Sato-keiji speaking heatedly. He gave a dull glance to the window that now seemed even further away than before and gave up, snuggling deeper into the cold sheets.

* * *

Across town, Kaito put the finishing touches on his transformed snowy doves. A blush applicator and several shades of grey eye shadow later and the half dozen doves he brought with him now made very believable pigeons. Each armed with cameras on their legs, he sent out his sentinels to roost and beg crumbs in front of the organization's building.

He adjusted his laptop into the shade of the tower ledge so he could see the screen and positioned himself at the spyhole behind his tripod. With his best zoom lens mounted, he had been snapping pictures since the office building had opened at 6:30. Well-trained, his doves took every advantage to follow people entering the building shamelessly begging treats only to be shooed out the door again by harassed secretarial types.

The ankle-high video footage streaming onto his laptop was a dizzying rush of images but he silently cheered when one of his posse, chased by a rolled newspaper in one of the worker's hands, fluttered high enough to catch a steel sign with acid etched lettering on one of the interior walls. He quickly backed up the footage, frame-by-frame, until he had a decent image of the sign and the first hint of a name for the secretive building.

"Blackline?" Kaito murmured to himself. "Not very creative, are you?"

He pulled up a search screen and let google have its way with the company name for a while. After narrowing down his search by adding plus Tokyo and plus Akasaka _and_ plus the street name, he finally found a link for Blackline Defense, Inc. Unlike any of the other links on the page, this hyperlink had no summary, no active links for a cashed version of the page and his antivirus gave no indication of whether the link was safe or not. "It's like you're not even there," he mused.

Grinning like the cat that ate the canary, he wasted no time bookmarking the site. "Wait 'til Kudo sees you!" he grinned joyfully. Speaking of which, he gave the corner of his screen a glance, '_School was out at least an hour ago,_' he frowned. '_Where the heck is he?_' His half-thought of waiting to explore the website until the little detective showed died a quick impatient death.

Curious, he entered the site and gave the page a professional once over. The page was a simple black with a column of ads down the right. Highlighting the page revealed nothing hidden in the dark background. Lacing his fingers and straightening his arms in a joint cracking stretch, he right-clicked and scrolled down to 'view page source.' He scanned the page of coding with a well-practiced eye. "Come on, show me how I get in," he murmured to himself excitedly. Grinning, he happily re-read the line that might just be the key.

Pulling back into the blank sea of black, he confidently pressed Ctrl+B+D+I like the coding had instructed to bring up the true page… and nothing. Kaito sat Indian-style with his leg hopping like a rabid rabbit staring crossly at his screen. Breaking in was obviously going to take more work. Tired of staring at the taunting screen of black, he minimized the page and consoled himself with the task of taking more pictures he would later have to spend all night in his dark room processing. He threw the occasional look at the door, but Conan never showed.

* * *

The next time Conan woke up, he was enveloped in the most comfortable warmth he had ever been in. His sore throat wasn't the lake of fire it had been, but the raw throbbing pain drew him out of his comfortable snuggle and back to the waking world.

Now that he had decided to wake up, he was all too aware of the bright morning sunlight falling across his face. He tried to wedge himself deeper in his blankets and away from the annoyance but was blocked by a warm soft wall at his back. He froze solid and his eyes flew open… too quickly as his vision swam before focusing on the long smooth arm his cheek, and the rest of his head, was laying on. He held his breath realizing that he was currently enveloped in one of Ran's sleeping bear hugs usually reserved for ghost stories at creepy inns and hot spring resorts.

He must have made some sort of sound or movement because he soon felt Ran sigh into his hair and curl around him. Her arm currently draped over his shoulder pulled him close and into two very soft somethings behind him. He blushed fiercely only to realize blushing made him extremely dizzy.

"Conan-kun, are you finally awake?" Ran asked quietly into his hair.

He let out the breath he forgot he had been holding and winced in pain the rush of air had on his throat. "Um… Ran-neechan? Why are we in your…" he began hoarsely before his voice left him mid-question.

"You were sick; very, very sick. You still are," She answered with a quiet stillness from behind him. "You've had a very high fever and it only dropped to 39C a few hours ago."

Conan went thoughtfully silent at her implication. A fever of 39C was a very high fever. If his fever had been so high 39C was considered low by comparison, he was almost afraid to find out how high it had been or how many brain cells he had come close to frying. His unfocused gaze caught the dust floating in the air in the sunbeams falling through Ran's window before the mid-morning light finally connected in his brain. "Ran-neechan, aren't you going to be late for school_!_?" he bolted upright in realization before the resulting wave of dizziness and nausea dropped him back onto the bed. He felt his fever for the first time after the two seconds out of Ran's arms left him shivering violently.

She smiled gently as he brazenly squirmed his way back into the warm bear hug he woke up in for relief from his chill. "I'm staying right here until you're well," she finally managed after he had arranged himself satisfactorily in a warm nest of blankets and her arms leaving only his hair visible. "Do you want me to bring you some water?"

His hair shook back and forth above the blankets. "Don't move," his muffled voice replied from his cave.

She smiled and yawned before letting herself finally drift off after a full day and two sleepless nights of worry.

* * *

After much observation of one Takano Hiroko, city employee and mailman, from his aerial nest, Kaito felt confident in the latex mask he had created the night before. The true Hiroko was asleep and snoring behind his steering wheel, his vehicle parked in a lonely back alley out of view.

Kaito had already inspected the incoming mail at the local postal office after hours the night before and knew for a fact Blackline Defense, Inc. was expecting two packages and a handful of certified letters today, said mail was already tucked under his arm. One last check in the sideview mirror to straighten 'his' blue mailman's cap and he set off for the slate and dark glass building. He jauntily entered the building's foyer and pressed the intercom button next to the inner door's security checkpoint.

"State your business," a crisp voice answered instantly.

"Mail's here," Kaito replied in a well-rehearsed voice. A sharp buzz sounded and he quickly entered the building trying to keep the butterflies in his stomach to a minimum. The brief images he had gotten from his doves' cameras hadn't given him the best view and he was stunned by the mundane-ness of the office of cubicles.

"Running a little late, Takano-san?" the woman behind the front desk asked in the frostily polite manner of someone making small talk because it was expected and not because she actually cared.

"Guess so," Kaito muttered noncommittally, spying the appointment sign-in clipboard in front of her. "Need you to sign for these," he deflected handing her the electronic tablet. While she was busy signing for the letters, he smoothly slid the clipboard close enough to read upside-down, committing the list of clients to memory.

Kaito carefully kept his face neutral as she handed the tablet back and focused on getting back _out_ the_ door_. He wound up bumping shoulders with the woman in a leather jumpsuit in the process of unbuckling her motorcycle helmet who was entering just as he was exiting and gave a quick apology over his shoulder. Back in the ultra bright sunlight after the muted interior light, he walked off in a random direction until he had placed five blocks between himself and the building finding an alley to pull off his mask and catch a steadying breath.

The page he had glimpsed was full of names he hadn't recognized but the column where the clients had signed what corporation they were representing was a who's who of the richest businesses in Minato ward. With a furtive look around for anyone watching, Kaito changed out of the mailman's uniform and straightened the casual clothes he had been wearing underneath. From his pocket he pulled a small glass spritz bottle that formerly held his mother's perfume, currently lost down the bathroom sink, and sprayed the outfit down thoroughly with the acid solution he had prepared for just such an occasion and tossed the outfit to slowly eat itself in a dumpster. He doubled back to home base, his spynest on Akasaka Tower, in a winding complicated path just to make sure no one was following, picked up his backpack, and took another weaving path to the headquarters of one of the companies on the list.

It wasn't until he was sitting in the emergency stairwell of the building that he allowed himself to relax and fall back against the cold cement and take some calming breaths while staring at the ceiling. The organization's building had seemed so ordinary inside but he just couldn't help feeling creeped out by the place. He gave his arms a few rubs to soothe out his goosebumps and pulled out his laptop. "Okay. Time to work," he muttered to himself.

The building's network was secure but Kaito was well versed in getting around such complications. Having access to a police department's password cracker program didn't hurt either. By the time he had logged on to the network, he had masked his presence with a long maze of rerouting. Still knowing he was working against the clock to find what he needed, another program found in the dregs of the internet found him the server's IP. He gave the number a quick study and flicked the switch on the side of his laptop cutting off his internet feed instantly. The laptop was quickly closed and packed and he was walking out the building even as the security officers in the lobby were receiving curt orders over their walkie-talkies and jumping to life from their bored haze.

Kaito took the nearest subway to Akihabara-cho and blended himself in among the college students hanging out in an internet café. It took some doing and a few cups of coffee, but he was able to mask his computer's IP with that of the company's, who's name just happened to match the one etched on top of his laptop.

Wrapped in sheep's clothing, he pulled up the website from the day before. Crossing his fingers, he input the command again of Ctrl+B+D+I and watched in satisfaction as he was treated to a dissolve fade and the real website met his eyes welcoming him to Blackline Defense, Incorporated. Taking a cautious look around the café, Kaito bent his head and set about fully exploring the website.

* * *

It was a good four hours later that Ran woke up feeling almost fully rested for the first time in days and tucked a soundly sleeping Conan in tightly. She rested her hand against his forehead to reassure herself that, yes he was finally feeling cool to her touch. She adjusted the blinds to block out the afternoon sun to let Conan sleep a little bit longer and quietly left the room.

Checking the time, she sighed at the thought of fixing her father a late lunch when she'd only be making supper in a few hours anyway. Running a quick tally of their current tab, she made the rare choice of phoning in an order to the café downstairs. Feeling slightly guilty about cutting corners she wandered back to her room to watch Conan sleep from the doorframe.

Ever since his fever had dropped enough for the delirium to fade, he hadn't answered a single question of hers. She had, however, written down the name he had mumbled so often during his first night of fever. This 'Jin' person was listed in the notebook she kept in her purse next to the 'Irish' he had mentioned several nights ago, she had had to look that one up in her dictionary to spell it correctly.

While she had been very short with Takagi-keiji and Sato-keiji the day before when they had insisted on speaking with Conan despite his condition, she hoped they would still let her try to find information on the two names. She still had no idea how to go about asking the many questions she had for Conan. Somehow, interrogating him while he was recovering from such a terrible illness seemed cruel yet she knew she wasn't the only one who had questions for him. She almost felt sorry for him knowing how furious her father was with him and the lecture he had coming. "When he's well," she murmured to herself aloud, for both assurance and resolve. "I'll ask when he's well."

Satisfied with her decision, she quietly slipped out the door and hurried to the first floor and café leaving Conan to sleep peacefully.

/

Hakuba glanced up from his spiced tea out of habit more than curiosity when the door jingled announcing a new customer's entrance. His position at the long bench along the side of the building gave him the perfect view to watch out the window for any sign of Kuroba sneaking over to visit the Mouri's young guest and it also gave him the perfect view of Ran entering the café and being greeted kindly by the enthusiastic girl behind the counter who was bringing a white plastic bag to-go order to her while they chatted.

/

Ran pasted on a smile she certainly didn't feel and pushed open the door to Café Poirot.

"Ran-chan, how are you doing?" Azusa greeted cheerfully behind the counter. "I heard through the grapevine your little one's sick," she added conspiratorially in a stage whisper. "Is he doing okay?"

"He's doing a little better but he was _very_ sick," Ran answered unable to keep the weariness from her voice. "I'm just glad he didn't need to be hospitalized."

"That bad, huh?" Azusa sighed sympathetically. "Here. I added an extra soup for Conan-kun. On me," she smiled encouragingly hefting the heavy plastic bag onto the counter.

"Azusa-san, I can't take this!" Ran exclaimed, "I didn't order anywhere near this much."

"Please don't worry about it Ran-chan," Azusa replied pushing the bag closer to Ran. "Think of it as a thank you for all the years of your patronage. You can't have had much time to do anything while looking after a sick child. Please, let us do this for Conan-kun at least." Ran gaped flabbergasted at the size of the large bag. "As soon as the kiddo's okay, you can make it up to me by ordering a lot the next time your family and that nice detective Taki, or whatever his name is, eat here."

Ran finally caved at the prospect of not having to prepare supper and accepted the generous offer gratefully. "Thank you, Azusa-san," she said with a heartfelt smile. She was turning and about to head for the door when she noticed a familiar face. "Hakuba-san, what are you doing here," she exclaimed, walking over to the detective. Her surprise left her suddenly and she felt a cold feeling settle in her stomach. Spread across the table Hakuba was using were xerox after xerox of articles about Shinichi. Each one dated a little more than a year ago, each one she had memorized by heart when they had first been published. Not even quite sure why, she backed up a step from his table.

"Good afternoon, Ran-san," Hakuba greeted politely, trying to shuffle his cluttered workspace, "I hate to point it out but it's still school hours, you wouldn't happen to be sk…" He faltered in his small talk when he noticed the shadow Ran had cast over the table back away. He looked up to see her casting a wary guarded look over his research. She looked up and met his own suddenly wary expression. An uncomfortable silence stretched between them neither was quite sure how to fill.

"Where is he?" Hakuba finally asked, without preamble, breaking the silence.

Ran held his gaze boldly. Hakuba's eyes had gone from pleasantly polite to cold and calculating the instant the question had left his mouth. In a stubborn fit of loyalty, Ran stared him down just as coldly refusing to answer.

"All the recent papers claim no one has heard from him in over a year," he continued studying her face closely. "Yet when I asked several Teitan students about his whereabouts, they wouldn't answer me. Where has Kudo-kun gone? Why did he disappear? What is he doing?"

"Why are you looking for him?" Ran countered evenly. Hakuba stared back evenly and finally cracked a sardonic grin.

"Your loyalty is admirable. I certainly hope he deserves it," he smiled steepling his fingers still studying her closely. "I'll admit I've been recently intrigued. He resembles someone I know… a little too much for my liking," he added with a weary sigh. "It seems a local celebrity known for enjoying the spotlight regularly _vanishes_ and aside from a few weeks worth of articles no one seems to care about where he's gone. My Baaya had a fine time just finding these articles for me. Is he alive?"

Across the table from him, Ran couldn't help her eyebrows from furrowing in agitation while she tried to reign in her temper. "I'll take that as a yes," he concluded gathering himself for more questions.

Ran clenched her jaw and readjusted her hold on her bag. "I'm sorry Hakuba-_san_, I have to take care of Conan-kun right now. I'll have to answer your questions some other time." She gave him a curt nod and left the restaurant, her pride forcing her to walk at a stiff moderate pace instead of fleeing the way she truly wished to.

The second she was out the door her hand was pulling her cell from her pocket and speed-dialing. Her call went straight to voicemail the way it often did, Shinichi's happy voice kindly asking her to leave a message.

"Shinichi? Shinichi are you on a case where you can't call me?" She stopped on the stairs to the agency and had to sit down on the cold concrete steps, setting the bag down so she could wrap her shaking arms around herself. Her voice wavered despite her desperate attempt to keep her voice steady. "I really need you to call me, okay? I… I just need to know you're all right. Please." Shaking fingers shut the cell and clenched it in her fists while she dropped her forehead against her grip on the phone.

She sat there for several long minutes taking deep breaths outright refusing to let any tears fall. Once she was satisfied the urge to cry had passed, she continued up to her father's office.

* * *

The students of Ekoda High School, particularly those of classroom 2-B, had long been trained to recognize the symptoms and traits of a very bored or highly agitated Kuroba Kaito. And it was a cross-looking, leg-bouncing, glaring holes in his desk Kaito that had all of them treading very softly and anxiously through yet another day of 'what's-pissing-Kuroba-off-today-and-what-color-will-my-clothes-turn-if-I-annoy-him' anxiety. The only ones immune to Kuroba's current mood seemed to be Hakuba, because he didn't know better, and Aoko and Akako, because Kaito knew better.

Kaito rubbed at the dark circles under his eyes and tried to concentrate on his trig lesson, but it was a little hard when the teacher kept dropping the chalk every time he noticed Kaito watching him. Sleep exhausted irritation was apparently easily mistaken for glaring and Kaito finally realized the poor man was probably expecting to be turned into rabbit and so opted for staring out the window most of the period so class could run somewhat smoothly.

He had been spending every night of the last few days at his rooftop 'spynest' watching the building occupied by whom Kudo had called the Black Organization. And every one of those nights, Kudo had failed to show up or check in even once. He had even started sending Snowflake with a message asking 'what was going on' every night and every morning she came home message unanswered or read.

He'd had to nix going over to find out himself because when Hakuba wasn't stalking him at school he was hanging out at his new favorite study spot, Poirot's. He had wondered if Hakuba was the reason the pintsized detective hadn't come by but he reasoned that he would have at least sent a message. No, something was wrong in Kudo-land and he felt frustrated he was so out of the loop. "Next time, I'm getting a phone number," he sighed to himself.

"Problem?" Hakuba asked politely from the seat behind him.

Kaito folded his arms and made a show of sulking out the window again. Hakuba was a new problem lately… or at least more so than usual. He kept hanging around uncomfortably close every time he changed for gym forcing him to retreat to a bathroom stall. And during gym he'd noticed Hakuba's new habit of always staying on his left. It had taken him a while to realize Hakuba was trying to find his scar. Not that there was anything to see. Applying the right cosmetics to cover up the mark had been a part of his morning routine since the gash had closed enough to safely use them. No, somehow it _had_ to be Kudo's fault, he was sure of it. Kudo _must_ have said _something_ about his wound, which just added to his current aggravation with the no-show.

His inability to get hold of the child-detective was making him anxious about the information he had uncovered the day before. He already had the beginnings of a plan working through his mind and he resolved himself to follow through with it if Kudo failed to show up by sundown.

* * *

Conan sighed from inside the quilt Ran had wrapped him in. He was finally allowed out of bed so long as he stayed in the same room with Ran or Kogoro and stayed covered up. The moment his fever had broken completely the night before, Kogoro had rounded on him with the loudest, sternest lecture he had ever received from the man… in either childhood. He was now looking at a month-long grounding and a set curfew of 10:00pm. But what had really subdued him was how angry Kogoro had been that he'd worried Ran.

He was watching her now, rushing around the apartment, dusting every inch like a woman possessed. She had yet to go back to school, claiming he was still too sick. Frankly he felt almost normal after the daily shots Araide-sensei had been giving him. No, Ran had been acting odd since the day before, kind of… sad. And he still had no clue where the jacket he had been wearing the night he got sick, and Shinichi's phone, was. And neither Ran nor her father had yet to leave him alone to look.

"Are you okay, Ran-neechan?" he finally asked from the depths of his bundle at the table. "You look kind of tired. I didn't make you sick too right?" he asked mulling up all the wide-eyed innocence he could.

"I'm fine, Conan-kun. There's nothing you need to be worried about," she answered mechanically lost in her familiar pattern of cleaning.

At the table, Conan frowned watching her closely and not buying it for a moment. He dropped his eyes to the slew of papers spilling out of Ran's school satchel across the table. His eyes fell on the brightly colored sheet with a 'what to bring' list for the class' upcoming camping trip. "Ran-neechan, the school trip leaves this evening, are you going to go?" he asked tentatively.

"I don't think so Conan-kun. I think I should stay here and look after you until you're well," she replied with a tired smile.

"I'm okay," he replied stubbornly, "I think you should go have some fun."

"You do, huh," she answered with the ghost of an amused smile. "Well I think I need to stay and baby-sit a certain young man who has a lot to answer for." She gave him a fiercely determined look that told him she would not be deterred in pulling answers from him. Conan fidgeted uncomfortably under her stare. Satisfied that she had finally put him on notice, she returned to dusting her father's video collection. She never noticed the walking bundle of blanket dragging a train of quilting disappear into the kitchen. In fact she didn't notice anything amiss until her cell phone started buzzing madly at her hip.

She gave a quick glance to who was calling her and sent a suspicious look Conan's way. Conan sat innocently at the table drinking the hot milk with honey she had made him, dazing off into space. "Sonoko?" she answered carefully.

"_What do you mean you're not coming?_!" Sonoko demanded without preamble. "_We already picked out matching hiking boots. You can't possibly think I'm going to go camping in the woods by myself?_!"

"Sonoko, you'll be with the class," Ran replied weakly. She sent Conan a dirty look who met her gaze brightly behind his cup. She disappeared into the kitchen to continue the protests all three of them knew she would lose.

Conan heaved a relieved sigh hearing the argument swing in Sonoko's favor from what he could overhear. He knew he could count on Sonoko to drag Ran along on whatever escapade she set her mind to. And he _had_ stressed that Ran had been feeling down and could do with some fun. He decided to make certain she received a long call from Shinichi while she was on vacation. '_Thanks Sonoko,_' he mused gratefully.

* * *

Nakamori leaned against a brick wall on the roof of the Ekoda Police Department watching the burning embers of his cigarette creep closer to the filter. In frustration he flung the stub to the pebble covered ground and stamped out the last of the dying glow and consequently the only light left on the dark roof. He glared at the burnt out bulb above his head and was about to check his watch for the umpteenth time when he finally heard the definite sound of echoing footsteps in the stairwell behind him. "It's about damn time," he muttered over crossed arms when the steel door next to him finally opened. "Now what was so important that I have to be late for dinner with my daughter."

Megure looked at him in confusion from the doorway with his hand still on the door's push bar. "What are you talking about Nakamori-kun? _You_ called _me_ that you had to speak to me in private and that it was urgent."

The two inspectors stared at each other in dawning realization and mounting concern before mutually drawing their weapons and flattening against the wall.

"**Where are you, you damn thief! I know you're up here somewhere!**" Nakamori bellowed over the dark shadows. "This better not be your idea of a joke! Aoko was going to make my favorite tonight!" Megure rolled his eyes next to his irate colleague.

"Keibu-san, I would be more than happy to speak with you both… once I'm sure you won't shoot me."

Nakamori growled at the disembodied voice coming from the shadows of the building's giant air conditioning units. "Don't bother," he grumbled at Megure who was creeping toward the voice, weapon at the ready. "He's not over there." Nakamori made a heavy show of flipping the semi's safety back on and returning the weapon to his shoulder holster. "Put it away Megure. Whatever game he's playing, I want to get this over with."

"Are you sure Nakamori-kun?" Megure asked in a quiet aside still holding his weapon high ready.

"Yeah, it'll be fine," Nakamori replied pushing off his wall to join Megure in the meager moonlight. "When was the last time the bastard did more to anybody than piss someone off." Reluctantly, Megure safetied his own weapon and tucked it back in its holster and waited alongside the increasingly impatient Nakamori.

"Thank you, keibu-sans. We can get down to business now," Kaitou Kid said in a magnanimously grand voice from his relaxed perch on top of the roof access, his legs dangling inches from the top of the doorway they had just been standing under, as though he had been there the entire time.

"So… did you finally decide to hang up your cape and turn yourself in or did you have a reason for calling this little party?" Nakamori grumbled, hardly fazed by the thief's sudden appearance and quite used to his theatrics.

Kid grinned down on them in that happily manic way of his that always set Nakamori on edge. "Of course I had a reason, keibu-san. I'm here to make you an offer you can't refuse," he announced merrily in a perfect imitation of Don Corleone. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to give me an opening to do that," he laughed from his perch observing Megure's sour expression and Nakamori's furious one.

"**If you're not going to be serious, I'm going home!**" Nakamori shouted, stomping his way to the door under Kid.

"That's too bad keibu-san," Kid mused, and Nakamori shuddered at the smugness in his voice just _knowing_ whatever the thief said next was going to make him feel the need to curse. "And I was just about to offer you two the perpetrators of the Touto Tower Disaster," Kid paused to pull out an airmail manila folder from his jacket and dangled it teasingly over Nakamori's head, "on a silver platter."

Nakamori froze, his hand still over the door's push bar. The sudden tenseness in the air told him Megure was in high alert 'cop-mode' behind him just as he was. He glared up at Kid, who's expression, from what he could tell from under the shadow of that damn hat, had taken on a feral intensity that made Nakamori hesitate before reaching a tentative hand to accept the folder that was no longer swinging and waiting patiently for him to grab.

"How do you know about that?" Megure asked suspiciously, his hand slipping for his holster unconsciously.

"That damn museum case," Nakamori muttered while he unwound the red string from around the small button holding the large envelope closed. "You were in the neighborhood, casing, I take it?" At the ensuing silence he looked up where Kid was watching him. "What? No snappy comebacks today?"

"Not this time keibu-san," Kid answered behind a somber frown.

Nakamori looked away quickly refusing to analyze how disturbing he found a serious Kaitou Kid and walked back to Megure as he pulled out a thick stack of 11x14 black and white photos. He halved the stack and shoved one to Megure for inspection and started rifling through his own stack. A cursory examination of the back of the first few photos gave him a loose weekly schedule of the person photographed in the neat typed script he knew well from Kid notices. "Hey, Megure," he muttered after a few more photos. "Where have I seen this building before?"

"Megure-keibu, try the last page in your stack," Kaitou Kid offered quietly. "I put the most important photos last."

Megure pulled the bottom page out and the two inspectors stared at the scenic city view and the dark building circled in red. The color dropped from Megure's face as recognition set in. "Their hideout is across the street from the American Embassy_?_!"

"Perfect. All we need is for this to turn into some international incident," Nakamori muttered looking over Megure's shoulder.

"It gets better," Kid continued grimly. "You're looking at one of Minato's high business best kept secrets. Blackline Defense Incorporated, offering the highest quality electronic surveillance and security to more than half the fortune 500 corporate offices and over thirty international embassies in the ward. And before you ask, it's the embassies with the highest international profiles."

Nakamori cursed under his breath and Megure stared up at Kid in horror at the implications. "…Is that information accurate?" Megure finally asked the thief who was watching them silently.

Kid rested his chin in his hand sizing up Megure before finally answering. "No. I only tracked and followed the employees of that place for a little less than a week. The number of places they've infiltrated is probably much higher."

Nakamori let fly a second string of curses and joined Megure looking up at the thief. "And you're _sure_ these people had something to do with the attack?" Megure pressed still eye-locked with the thief.

"Next to the last two pictures," Kid replied and waited for Megure to locate said pictures with Nakamori hovering over his shoulder. Megure pulled out two photos, one with a large man dressed in black wearing sunglasses and a second out-of-focus photo of a figure also dressed in black with long light-colored hair. Kid gave the inspectors a moment to study the pictures and his notes on the back, the only two pictures with names attached albeit in quotation marks. "I saw four parachutes deploy that night but I can only testify to these two. The big guy, I personally saw leave the helicopter crash site, my source ID-ed the other."

"Source?" Nakamori asked with Megure watching him sharply.

Kid nodded and a secretive grin crossed his face. "My source also provided the names. But I'm afraid aliases is all we have."

"Bo-du-ka and Gin…" Megure muttered, stumbling over the pronunciation.

"It's pronounced 'Jin'," Kid corrected.

Nakamori gave a rude snort and snatched the second picture from Megure. "And what the hell happened with this one_?_!" he asked waving the blurry photo at the thief. "You can barely make this one out! What kind of crap job is this_?_!"

"Best I could do, keibu-san," Kid frowned. "That one is sharp… and dangerous. Be careful of him."

"…Kido-kun," Megure frowned handing Nakamori his stack of pictures. "I appreciate the work you've done with this… it must have been difficult doing this much high quality surveillance."

Nakamori murmured several rude curses at any praise directed at the thief including a mumble that sounded suspiciously like 'fucking ninja.' Kaitou Kid kept his gaze directed at Megure and, for the most part, ignored Nakamori's grumbling.

"…but I'm afraid this case is no longer in my hands to investigate," Megure continued. "In fact, my force has been forbidden to pursue any matters involved in this."

"I'm well aware of your limitations, Megure-keibu. Your detectives have been grumbling about it around the water cooler all week," Kid grinned.

Megure's eyebrows shot to his hat-line in shock. "When did you…"

"…and I've already taken that into account." Kid flung a slim white card with a practiced hand at Megure who easily caught the card and glanced at the familiar typed writing and grinning Kid caricature at the bottom. He was so engrossed looking over the printed riddle he almost missed catching the second manila envelope Kid tossed to him. He unwound the string and pulled out several security camera black and white stills of Kaitou Kid skulking through the hallways of an office building and back alleys. "It's unfortunate, but it seems Blackline Defense is about to be the target of a Kaitou Kid heist," Kid mused aloud theatrically with a heavy sigh. "And after all, Nakamori-keibu has carte blanche to investigate any and all Kid heists regardless of location or jurisdiction. As the information concerning this heist was turned up by _Megure-keibu_ of Division One, I'm _sure_ Nakamori-keibu wouldn't mind a joint project in this instance. I promise to do my very best to make as big a mess as possible. You'll just _have_ to collect everything as possible evidence," Kid finished with a smug grin.

The two inspectors exchanged looks at the perfect solution handed to them. Nakamori grabbed the pictures from Megure roughly and gave them a practiced studied look. "Hey, will these stand up to forensic scrutiny? They're not shopped jobs right?" he grumbled suspiciously at the thief. "If we use this plan of yours to raid a high profile place like this on faked evidence, it'll be our asses."

"Would I do that to you, Keibu-san?" Kid smirked down at him.

"**YES!**" Nakamori bellowed a little too close for comfort for Megure's hearing.

"You wound me, keibu-san," Kid answered in mock sadness before regaining his serious tone, "but as far as those pictures go, if you have _any_ equipment or software that tells you those are fake, I'll turn myself in."

"So, you mean, you're pretty confident about the job you did on these," Nakamori muttered giving the pictures a second run-through.

"Prove it," Kid replied with a sly smile.

Nakamori gave him a stern look before turning away to shove the pictures back at Megure. "Good enough for me." He walked away to pace in the shadows of the air condition ductwork patting down pockets for his cigarettes. "It's up to you Megure if you want to follow this hair-brained scheme but we'll be handing in our resignations and probably those of our subordinates if things go wrong. I've already heard rumors your department is under watch on this case."

Megure frowned at Nakamori's blunt assessment of his department troubles while the thief was so obviously listening closely to them. He gave an annoyed cough at Nakamori's general direction before looking back up at Kid. "Kido-kun, I'm assuming you intend to cooperate with the police if any of this reaches court," he paused long enough to confirm a nod from the thief. "You mentioned having a source that can provide names. Will they be willing to cooperate with a police investigation as well?"

"He already has been for quite a while… in his own way," Kid answered mysteriously. "He can be more help to you than I can." Megure brought a hand to his chin while he mulled over Kid's words. "That's all I really had to say tonight keibu-sans." Kid swung his legs up and gathered himself in a crouch, prepared to leave. "We'll see each other again on the night of my next heist."

"Don't suppose you'll tell us when that is?" Nakamori mumbled over the unlit cigarette in his mouth.

"And have you miss out on solving my latest riddle?" Kid grinned down at him before dropping it in favor of cold seriousness. "Whoever you choose for your teams on this one, make sure they show up armed and in full protective gear. I'm sure our opponents won't play by my rules." He held Nakamori's gaze until he was sure the older man understood. '_Don't die._'

Nakamori looked away with a gruff 'hmph' at the thief's concern. He listened to the soft crunching of the sun-cracked concrete on the roof where Kid was preparing to stand.

"Kid."

Kaitou paused at the solemn seriousness in Nakamori's voice and glanced down to see that same almost fatherly concern in the inspector's eyes he remembered from his father's funeral. And while it genuinely shocked him that Nakamori could show that expression for his hated criminal persona, he forced his own face to remain as still as stone.

"Why are you involved in this one? _How_ are you involved in this one?" Nakamori asked with grudging concern. "This one's hardly your usual type of jewel grab. What are you doing getting involved with these freaks with military grade weapons?"

Megure cleared his voice gruffly before intruding on the 'talk' Nakamori was having with the thief. "I have to agree, Kido-kun," Megure added. "These people seem too dangerous for us to involve you just to help my division's investigation. Why are you going out of your way to help _us_?"

"We have a 'mutual friend' involved with this one, Megure-keibu. Let's just say I'm returning a favor and leave it at that," Kaito answered evenly. _'Even if the brat _did_ shaft me with all the work on this one,' _he grumped inwardly.

"Shinichi-kun. Your source, it's Shinichi-kun, isn't it? You've had contact with Shinichi-kun," Megure spoke with a sudden desperation. Kid turned to face him, or at least he assumed so from the tilt of Kid's hat. "Is he alright? He hasn't contacted anyone since the attack and Tome-kun found blood traces that didn't match the victim." He stopped and swallowed thickly to keep himself from rambling. "We've only had his usual message through Conan-kun not to report his involvement. Please tell me, is he safe?"

Kaito studied the older man for a moment somewhat surprised the man had inferred who he had been speaking about. "If this case has you worried keibu-san, you have good instincts," Kid finally answered without a trace of his usual mirth. "Your little detective sure finds himself in the most unusual… and dangerous situations." And at that, he did grin somewhat grimly. "But as far as I know, he's just fine."

Megure sighed in relief before backtracking the conversation in his mind. "What do you mean 'this case'?"

"More importantly, what's your pet doing associating with _this_ bastard?" Nakamori grumbled at Megure, rudely pointing a thumb at Kid.

Kid watched the two inspectors bicker over Kudo's supposed scruples in amusement and waited patiently for them to remember he was still there watching them. When it didn't look like they were going to stop any time soon, he hefted a heavy sigh and rolled up from his crouch gracefully. He had made it to the edge of his patch of roof when he fell under Nakamori's notice.

"Where do you think you're going," Nakamori fumed, "I still have questions I want answers to."

"Another time, keibu-san," Kid grinned at him over his shoulder. "I've already made you terribly late for dinner, and I hear your daughter has quite a temper on her." He ignored the now sputtering man turning to face the other detective on the roof. "As for your Kudo, try not to worry too much," Kaito spoke directly to Megure, "He's working with a safety net now. I won't let him get in too deep on this one. At least not alone." Megure nodded to the thief in grim agreement. Kaito stood and engaged his hang glider satisfied that the man was going to leave Kudo under his watch. "Goodnight keibu-sans," he said with a grin before jumping off the building.

"But where's _your_ net you idiot thief," Nakamori grumbled after the hang glider silhouetted against the clouds. He paused to light his cigarette before speaking again. "So… are you actually going to do this Megure? I thought the force was ordered off this case. By the commissioner himself."

Megure tapped the folder in his hands with a vicious grin spreading across his face. "I don't know what you're talking about Nakamori-kun. This is a Kaitou Kid investigation."

* * *

Day four of house arrest and Conan was BORED. Ran had left the night before with Sonoko waiting at the door amid many accusing looks sent his way. Which he had deflected with wide bright eyes and well placed miserable shivers until she felt guilty enough to give him a hug when she left despite his selling her out.

Since then, in compliance with what ever secret deal Ran and Kogoro had made in lieu of his grounding, Kogoro had bundled him up, blanket and all, and carried him slung over a shoulder down to the agency where he had spent all day on the office couch. Under orders not to leave the couch for anything less than a restroom break, he had been subjected to every Yoko concert and mini-series the man had ever taped to the point where he had found himself humming her first platinum hit in the restroom. It had to be some form of torture.

He had never been so happy when the door jingled open, the first client of the day… and felt his relief die miserably when Takagi pushed the door open balancing two coffees in one hand. He had completely forgotten the detective's habit of stopping by to visit with the Mouri family whenever he had time off.

"Takagi-kun, you're looking better," Kogoro said over the important files, horserace numbers, he was looking over.

"Eh?" Takagi looked up in confusion freezing in the doorway.

"You're leg," Kogoro muttered, "I heard you twisted an ankle."

"Oh, th-that," Takagi replied nervously, "I… um, I mean… Yes, I twisted it and it's doing a lot better."

Kogoro rolled his eyes at the young detective's stammering fit and gave him a stern look while accepting his coffee. From the couch, Conan watched Takagi closely.

"You wouldn't have made-up that injury to ditch work, would you?" Kogoro asked. Conan's opinion ran along similar lines, especially considering it wouldn't be the first time. Takagi's ensuing blush had Kogoro nodding knowingly. "Can't say I haven't done it a time or two? What happened, fall behind on your reports?"

"R-Really now Mouri-san?" Takagi stuttered placatingly, "Why would I make up an injury."

"Takagi-keiji is a bad liar," Conan muttered from his spot on the couch. Takagi sent him a dirty look, which Conan returned with a traitorous one of his own. After a full day of pop music torture, he just didn't care.

"In any case, I put together what you asked for," Kogoro continued pulling open a desk drawer. "Are you sure all you need are my notes from the mahjong case? Aren't you turning in your report a little late?"

Takagi settled himself stiffly on the couch opposite Conan. "I know. Things just piled up and I really don't want Megure-keibu or Sato-san to find out," he mumbled sheepishly.

Kogoro eyed him skeptically. "Thought you were past all these rookie mistakes," he muttered to himself shutting the drawer and searching another. Slamming it shut, he gave the two occupants of the room a scowl and heaved himself up. "Must've left it upstairs somewhere. **You don't move!**" he ordered, jabbing a finger into the air to emphasize each word. Takagi flinched and nodded obediently until he realized Kogoro was glaring at Conan over his head. Kogoro stomped his way to the door grumbling and the room fell into uncomfortable silence once he left.

"Why are you really here, Takagi-keiji?" Conan asked in a tired voice. Takagi's posture and expression hardened just enough that Conan could tell he finally meant business. Alone with the detective and lacking the strength to make a run for it, he gathered his blankets and made himself more comfortable in his nest for the interrogation he knew was coming. The best he could do now was stall until Kogoro came back.

"You could tell?" he asked curiously, carefully watching the child in pajamas opposite him.

"Like I said, you're a bad liar," Conan replied evenly. "And you can't write a report for a case that's already been classified."

Takagi gave him a long look and sighed. "I have so many questions I don't even know where to start."

"You only have until Kogoro-jisan comes back," Conan reminded him.

"You're not even going to try denying it are you," Takagi asked tensely, "that you _do_ know something." Conan just stared back silently. Outside the room, they both heard Kogoro's steps echoing off the hallway.

"You're almost out of time," Conan said carefully holding his face as impassive as possible.

"Fine," Takagi said casting a nervous look to the door. "Sato-san and I are working on our investigation from my apartment, will you come?"

The question actually caught Conan off guard. His eyes widened in surprise studying Takagi's earnest expression. Against his better judgment he found himself nodding silently at the same time Kogoro opened the door carrying a thick folder of unorganized papers.

Takagi quickly shot up from his seat full of nervous energy. "Ah, thank you Mouri-san," he said reaching for the folder before the man could say a word.

"You're leaving already?" Kogoro asked, confused at Takagi's sudden change in mood.

"Ah, yes. I have to go in early tomorrow," Takagi replied grabbing his coffee and edging for the door. "Megure-keibu called in several detectives for a special assignment." He lowered his voice conspiratorially. "We're going to be assisting Nakamori-keibu with a special Kaitou Kid case. He's pulling a heist downtown tomorrow morning."

Conan bolted upright from his nest of blankets. "What_?_! There's a Kid heist tomorrow_?_!"

Takagi frowned at his reaction, his nerves better under his control. "I'm sorry Conan-kun. I know you're used to going to Kid heists but Megure-keibu said only people on a list he and Nakamori approved will be allowed to be there." He watched Conan clench his blanket in tight fists.

"Isn't that a little unusual?" Kogoro asked, his curiosity peaked. "They've never done that for one of that thief's heists before; are you sure it's really a Kid heist?"

"I'm really not supposed to talk about it," he said. "I really need to go. Thank you Mouri-san." He gave one last look at Conan and left.

Still on the couch, Conan sat fuming silently. '_What the _hell_ is that idiot doing?_!' He kicked off his blankets and rushed for the door intent on writing a nasty letter for Snowflake to carry back to the thief. He had barely made it to the edge of the couch when he was hoisted into the air by the back of his pajama top.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" Kogoro grumbled.

"Upstairs to get a book to read?" Conan chirped, in bright bubbly innocence forcing his anger down into the pit of his stomach. He wondered in passing if it was possible for second graders to have ulcers.

"No. Now sit there and stay there," Kogoro ordered dropping him unceremoniously back onto the couch.

"But I'm bored," Conan whined hoping if he was irritating enough, Kogoro would send him upstairs for peace and quiet.

"Sit. Stay." Kogoro flipped his tv to the news and dropped the control in Conan's lap. "Just watch something and behave." He added a glare at the boy for good measure.

Denied from getting his way, Conan pouted and raised the volume. His pout disappeared when he realized just what was being broadcasted. "Ojisan."

Kogoro rounded on him to tell him to knock off the whining when he noticed the brat was focused on the tv. He joined Conan on the couch watching Commissioner Hakuba, mid press conference, discussing the status of the investigation on the Touto Tower Disaster. What followed was a complicated series of non-answers and circular evasions that would have made any politician proud.

"They're forming a commission to make an official inquiry? What a load of crap. In other words they're not doing anything," Kogoro fumed. He grabbed the control from Conan's lap and changed the channel to some mindless game show in retaliation. Next to him, Conan silently agreed. Sato and Takagi were right. The case was certainly being 'handled.'

Sidetracked by his thoughts, Conan jumped when the phone rang. Kogoro was up in an instant and talking with his prospective client. While Kogoro was distracted, he switched back to the press conference. He frowned watching the entourage of aides around the commissioner. '_It looks like the commissioner's hired some new people,_' he mused studying several new faces.

"Yes!" Kogoro cheered hanging up the phone. "I've got a case."

"Another adultery case?" Conan asked in a bored voice flipping the channel back to the game show.

"Don't put down the cases that put food on your table, brat," Kogoro groused.

'I _put food on our table._' Conan grumbled to himself.

"Question is," Kogoro continued, "what do I do with you?"

/

Conan forced his impatience not to show while Kogoro went about gathering his things, packing. An action that felt like it took twice as long without Ran to do it for him. Conan found himself helping to fold clothes to hurry the man along.

"Did you already call Agasa-hakase to pick you up?" Kogoro asked gruffly, zipping up his bag.

"Yes," Conan droned apathetically, managing to pull off sounding like the recently punished child he was supposed to be.

"No funny business while you're over there," Kogoro warned. "You're still grounded. Make sure you stay inside until he gets here. Last thing we need is for you to have a relapse."

"Uh-huh," Conan answered.

Satisfied Conan understood 'the rules,' Kogoro rushed out the door to catch the last train to Chiba. From the window, Conan watched him rush down the sidewalk and gave a sigh of relief. Alone for the first time in days, he started his mad search for his lost blazer from the night he got sick. The last thing he needed was for it to have gone through the wash with his two cell phones still in the pockets, or worse, for Ran to have _found_ the two cell phones doing laundry.

He had lost almost a full precious hour scouring the house, every closet, every drawer, under every bed, even the linen closet until he found his clothes from that day in the last place possible… the bottom of the bathroom laundry basket. He quickly pocketed the two phones, shoving the blazer back to the bottom of the basket and ran for the door. He barely spared the time to pull his shoes on and grab a coat to throw over his pajamas.

"That idiot better be ready to explain himself," Conan muttered running headlong down the stairs of the Beika-cho subway station.

/

Kaito spared the meager-est of glances when the rooftop door swung open violently, banging against the cinderblock wall, already fairly sure who he'd see. He returned his attention to the building several blocks away once he was sure the height of the figure in the doorway didn't reach the doorknob.

"**What. Did. You. Do**_**?**_**!**" Conan's voice yelled furiously from the open doorway.

"So… finally decided to get off your ass and join the party Kudo?" Kaito muttered, not bothering to turn his attention away from his binnoculared view of the Blackline building. "While you've been off doing whatever it is child-sized detectives do, oh I don't know, homework? Some of us have been working on this case."

He finally turned around when he felt the vibrations on the metal walkway indicating that his company had stopped just behind him. He favored Conan with his best sullen glare to find the child-sized detective leaning his hands on his knees trying to get his breath back next to him. A guess told him Kudo had probably run up the stairs. He also realized that Conan was standing next to him in Masked Yaiba pajamas with a hastily grabbed coat thrown on top and looked unnaturally pale when a run upstairs should have had him red-faced from the effort. His eyes widened, fully taking in the way Conan's clothed hung off him and how exhausted he looked. "Hey, are you okay Kudo?"

Conan dragged his gaze up to meet Kaito's. "Never mind that. What have you done_?_!" Conan pressed, brushing aside Kaito's concern. "I told you **not** to lead the police there! Exactly how many of the things I told you **not to do** did you _**do**__?_!"

Kaito bristled, his aggravation quickly returning. "While some of us have been on vacation the last few days, I've been here every day working on this by myself!" he shouted back furiously. "You weren't around to direct the show, oh 'great detective-sama' so I did the best I could! And pretty soon I'll be getting Nakamori-keibu to tear that place apart _and_ I even managed to get your Division One included in the investigation. These bastards are as good as caught in a few hours!"

Conan pinched the bridge of his nose in protest of the coming headache he just _knew_ was coming. "Which would be fine if the Organization hadn't already infiltrated the police ages ago!" he ground out. He paused to observe Kaito's stunned reaction. "They probably already know the police are coming and if they know _you're_ going to be dropping right into their laps, it's going to be a complete shoot-out tomorrow."

"Today," Kaito interjected softly, still stunned.

"Whatever," Conan muttered, "They won't pass up the opportunity to have Kaitou Kid shot in the confusion if they have the opportunity and any evidence that _was_ there will be long gone! And you'll be leading all those police officers right into that mess!" He paused in his angry tirade to observe Kaito's still flabbergasted expression.

"Have any of the people working there been removing boxes or shown any sign of clearing the place out?" he finally asked once he was sure Kaito had fully processed what he'd said.

"No. It's been operations normal all day," Kaito said softly. "The only thing I've noticed is that Gin and Vodka of yours haven't shown up today."

Conan processed the words with wide serious eyes. He glanced in the direction of the building, perfectly framed in the hole of Kaito's spy nest. "Damn it, he's got something in play then," he mused, activating his glasses' night vision and zoom capability. He stepped up to the hole blocking Kaito's view.

"Because he didn't stop by today?" Kaito asked incredulously.

"Gin wouldn't change his schedule for no reason," Conan answered. He deactivated his glasses and started for the door.

"Where are you going?" Kaito asked, gathering his legs under him to stand and follow.

"I need to get inside that building," Conan replied. "It's a long shot though, they may have already 'disappeared' any evidence they had. You stay here!" he ordered from the door hanging from the doorknob. "You've done enough!" He slammed the door behind him furiously.

Kaito muttered several rude curses at the door after Conan's exit. He sat in silence for a while and then readjusted his view to watch the tiny detective making his way down the sidewalk below and disappear into a dark alley. He bit his lower lip nervously when he lost sight of the detective. He mulled over what Conan had let drop. If the organization really _had_ already infiltrated the police and they were lying in wait for that morning's raid, he would have been leading his task force into mortal danger once dawn had come without ever knowing it. "Damn bastards… always one step ahead of me," he muttered angrily. He refocused the brightness of his night-vision binoculars trying to get a better view down the alley. "At least I know someone one step ahead of _you_."

/

Conan ran down an alley, wary of the fact that the empty sidewalks of early morning made him all the more visible to any street-side security cameras the organization's building may have. He turned a corner and ran down the city dumpster laden back alley ringed by skyscrapers. A dodge around a dumpster that had been pushed towards the center of the alley led him to run full force into a sturdy pair of legs walking down the alley in the opposite direction. Conan tossed a quick apology over his shoulder to the ragged homeless man he had nearly bowled over in his rush and was jogging his way back up to his earlier speed when a chill ran down his back at the echoing sound of the regular confident steps walking away from him. He slowed to a stop, hearing the steps behind him do the same.

"Vermouth."

The name fell from his mouth, even as he turned to face his quarry who was still standing with her back to him.

"Ara, was I that obvious?" her confident voice echoed off the tall buildings of the empty alley. She reached up behind her ear and pulled the latex mask from her face.

"What are you doing?" Conan closed the distance between them quickly before she could leave. "Are you here to clean up?"

"My, my. It seems _you_ know more than you should. And I suppose the little bird that has been hanging around is yours too." She tilted her head in the direction of the Akasaka Towers and watched Conan tense. "Don't worry, I'm the only one who knows where your bird is roosting. It's been _far_ too amusing watching Gin's paranoia about your bird's presence; it's been… entertaining."

"How long have you known?" Conan frowned, circling around her in case he needed to rush back and signal Kaito to run.

"I've suspected for a few days but then your little bird became brave enough to come to us."

Conan's frown deepened. He made a mental note to thoroughly question Kaito as to what exactly he had been up to. "Have your people been sending you out to deal with the mess Irish left behind?"

"I'm only in charge of containment this time," Vermouth answered smoothly, "logistics, paper trails, evidence. The one in charge of clean up is Gin." Conan's eyes widened hearing the name.

"Consider this a friendly warning, you may want to think about dealing with your two pets in the department. I've given them plenty of warning, but you seem to attract the stubborn ones." She paused to remove her shiny cigarette case from a shabby pocket. "They've been far too visible on this one. The organization is considering 'preventative measures' on any police stubborn enough not to follow the classified status of the case. But you and I know just how far down the rabbit hole they've already gone. If it gets out, their status **will** be changed to 'eliminate with prejudice.' At that point, it's Gin's department and there will be nothing I can do. If the hit comes, it will be Korn and Chianti; they already know their faces and vehicle. That's all I can tell you," she paused to light a cigarette. Conan tensely studied her in the brief flash of light.

"Actually, you may have even less time than that," she continued, "Gin has been given the redemption mission of disposing of whoever discovered and released that superintendent. I've been stalling on my reports so far since it's not my first priority and I know you're fond of those two, but I won't be able to for much longer. I can't protect them, even for you."

Conan nodded quietly, once more feeling the hands of panic welling up in this throat. Takagi and Sato were in more danger than he had imagined, and now he had the added worry of whoever Kaito had contacted. He needed to know _exactly_ what information Kaito had shared.

Whatever he had been planning to ask next was lost in the shrill scream of a building's fire alarm behind him. He whirled around to see what he already knew to be true. Black acrid smoke was billowing out of the seams between window and wall of the building that had been his target destination. He rounded angrily on Vermouth, still watching him with a smug look of satisfaction. "You were stalling for time!" he spat angrily.

"I can't make things _too_ easy for you," she replied behind a cat's smile. Conan barely stayed long enough to hear her, dashing full tilt for the burning building at the end of the alley. "'Good luck, Cool Guy'," she grinned after him, the foreign English words echoing quietly in the empty alley. Unobstructed, she continued on, walking calmly to a nearby parking garage and her hidden motorcycle.

/

Conan burst out of the alley onto the street between him and the smoking building. The heavily tinted windows masked any sign of actual flames. He gave a frown and a quick look at the American Embassy across the street. A fire so close to the high profile building would be sure to draw a crowd soon, even this early in the morning and he was currently watching any possible evidence still around destroy itself. He made a quick decision and grabbed an empty, mostly crushed soda can from the gutter near him. A powered kick and he was watching the glass of the front door shatter to the ground. Without a second thought, he ran into the building.

Once through the door, he was stopped by a second glass door, heavily tinted and guarded by a card slide device mounted to the side. Conan frowned at the security door only a second before charging his shoe a second time. Without something to kick and considering the time he'd waste finding something, he kicked the door's glass directly. The glass, again, shattered and rained down on him while he shut his eyes to protect them. Kicking an object directly instead of kicking something small into it had its disadvantage as he felt the jolt of the impact run up his leg from his foot to his hip in an electric flash of pain leaving him limping and his toes tingling. The broken security door now had smoke streaming out of it and collecting in the atrium above his head. He pulled his jacketed arm across his mouth and nose and pushed into the building.

A cursory search of the first floor showed nothing but the legitimate purpose of the building, secretarial and telecommunication cubicles for handling the clientele of the securities building. He skipped over it, opting for making his way in the weak light of his watch to the emergency stairs and the second floor. The second floor was still as full of smoke as the first and just as free of flames. Conan only looked around quickly from the doorway and continued his run to the last floor remaining. The organization would be sure, he decided, to concentrate the damage where their more nefarious actions took place and not on their cover business. He flinched at the hot metal of the doorknob to the third floor. He had to tuck his hand inside his sleeve to handle the doorknob and shove the heavy door open.

Conan was met with a rush of scalding air and took a quick look from the safety of the concrete stairwell. The emergency door of the third floor opened into a hell of flames licking up the walls of a mostly bare studio-style floor filled with desks and worktables. Conan was suddenly reminded of the similar rooms in police headquarters. Fire had already consumed most of the ceiling tiles exposing pipes and ductwork but molten insulation continued to melt off in large glops, spreading the fire to the desks and carpet below. Conan took one last deep breath and plunged into the burning room, the heavy door of the stairs closing tight behind him.

He braved the burning desks to try their drawers, all locked in a desperate attempt to find something, anything, that might help the investigation against the organization. His futile search led him deeper into the aisles of workstations. The fact that the floor under him had become significantly hotter led him to rush his search of trying to find a desk drawer that would **open** as the fire spread to the second floor.

He was coughing heavily by the time he rounded the corner of the elevator well and clung to the wall trying to catch his breath in the increasingly thin air of the burning building. He scrubbed his bleary, sooty eyes and gasped when the action caused the light of his watch to bounce off the clear glass of a master office. He weaved his way through burning patches of carpet fire until he made his way to the office. Another painful power kick to the glass wall and he was climbing under the blinds on the inside of the office while the fire behind him raged louder at the influx of fresh oxygen.

He made his way around an impressive hardwood desk, nothing like the generic industrial furniture of the rest of the floor. He gasped heavily in the relatively clean air of the office, trying locked drawers until he noticed the computer monitor sitting on the desk. He followed the monitor's position to a narrow vertical drawer in the massive desk and the only drawer that was unlocked.

An increase in the orange-yellow light filtering its way through the blinds warned him of the fire's increasing proximity. He pulled the computer tower out of its niche onto the floor knocking over the flat-screen monitor and speakers as their wires were pulled. Conan spent precious minutes using his nails to unscrew the tiny screws to the casing of the tower. Smoke was quickly filling the enclosed space of the office making him both dizzy and nauseous. He finally pulled off the casing exposing the computer interior. He gave the insides a quick look, following cables until he was satisfied there were no hidden surprises.

Shedding his heavy coat quickly, he set it on the floor in front of him. He reached into the tower and carefully removed the hard drive from its slot and placed it in the center of his coat. He hurriedly wrapped the drive until it was well protected deep within the multiple layers of his coat.

Satisfied the drive was safe, he tucked the bundle under his arm and crawled back out into the din of a fully raging fire. The ceiling made ominous loud cracking sounds while he tried to make his way through the dark smoke to the only exit he knew the location of, the door he had come in through at the opposite end of the building. Without his coat, he lost the benefit of something to filter his breathing and the scalding air of the burning room was scorching the fine hair on his exposed skin. The flames in the room towered above him, obscuring the view and his chance of finding a path across the room, leaving him to guess his way through the burning room.

He made it to the middle of the room and found himself stuck, surrounded by fire on all sides except the way he came. He would have cursed in frustration if he'd had the ability to speak. The only option left was to crawl back the way he came under the heavy smoke. A thunderous booming over his head was the only warning he had when the air conditioning ductwork above him, obscured by smoke, broke away from its mooring and collapsed pulling pipes and electrical cables down into the room. He barely had time to curl protectively over the coat-wrapped hard drive when the heavy duct fell on him.

/

Kaito pouted watching Conan disappear into the alley well over the boy's doom and gloom predictions about his plan, '_How dare Kudo brush aside my plan without even fully hearing it out._' He had worked hard on that plan. Even managed to win Nakamori to his plan with minimal problems. It hadn't been like Conan had been there to contribute all week. He refused to think too hard as to _why_ Conan had shown up in pajamas.

He continued to grump watching the far end of the alley Conan had gone through and waited… and waited. He stood up and nervously drummed his fingers on the binoculars waiting for Conan to exit the alley. His mind now tormented him guiltily for his earlier anger as a million horrible situations a child in a dark alley at four in the morning could fall into ran through his mind. He was pacing the metallic catwalk trying to decide if he should fly down and have a look when the shriek of the fire alarm split the quiet night air.

Kaito cursed, pulling the binoculars away from his eyes to search the skyline for smoke. "No! Damn it, NO!" he yelled in frustration seeing the thick smoke rising into the air above Blackline, Inc. He hadn't noticed the smoke at all with his attention on the alley. He raised the binoculars again locating the alley and watched the slight figure run out of the alley to the front door of the smoking building. "Get back here Kudo," he whispered to himself, "before someone notices you out there." He frowned watching the lights turn on in the guardhouse of the embassy.

The object of his concern, of course, did _not_ listen and instead exasperated him more by conspicuously breaking his way in through the front door. Kaito immediately threw the binoculars down activating his hang glider and jumped off the building within seconds of Conan disappearing into the building. "Damn it Kudo! What are you doing_?_!"

He was partially grateful for the thick smoke rising from the building. It made for good cover, even as it choked the breath from him. He disengaged the glider early, falling the last ten feet in favor of being able to reach his gas mask hooked behind his back. The black smoke rose from every air conditioning vent on the roof not to mention the smoke rising from the building's windows and expansion seams. The tar under the pebbles on the roof clung to his shoes and he could feel the intense heat of the fire inside through the soles of his shoes.

Kaito made his way to the roof door, stumbling through the sticky tar and the next to nil visibility of the smoke. The smoke made seeing next to impossible through his tears from irritation forcing him to pick the lock blind. Working blind took him longer than usual but he still had the door open relatively easily… and that worried him. For a stronghold of such a powerful enemy, he had been expecting a better defense. Once through the door he pulled a thin flashlight from his belt and inspected the interior side of the door. Three separate padlocks hung open, their locks impotently slung through the door side's lock slips. A quick experiment of turning the doorknob from the inside, which moved easily, and trying it from the outside, which didn't, and he came to the conclusion _someone_ had prepared the door as an escape route. He filed the information to tell Conan as soon as he found him.

He rushed down the concrete stairwell with his footsteps echoing around him. Even with his flashlight in the pitch black stairs, he could only see two steps ahead in the black smoke. He nearly passed up the third floor door. In a rush, he gave the hot knob a quick twist, barely feeling its heat pass right through his gloves, and frowned when the door refused to move. He gave the door another experimental twist. The fact the knob turned at all meant it wasn't locked and the door opened into the stairwell so nothing was blocking the door from opening. He ran the flashlight up and around the door's perimeter searching for some other reason the door wouldn't open.

It was when he pointed the light down that he finally understood. There, on the ground at his feet, gentle swirls of wispy smoke and dusty particles of ash were flowing towards the lower seam of the door on an invisible breeze. Eyes wide, he let go of the door with fingers gone cold and took several steps back from the door. He closed his eyes, willing the panic in him to settle down and offered a quick prayer to what ever god was listening for sparing him.

Eyes open again, he pulled every small explosive, usually meant for stubborn jewelry display cases, and taped them along the border of the door. Tearing a thin strip of material from his jacket, he quickly fashioned a crude fuse. Lighting it, he raced up the stairs and back onto the roof standing as far away from the door as he could while still holding the roof door open. Down below, he heard the dull explosion of his bombs forcing the door open just enough for the oxygen starved fire of the third floor to taste air followed by the roaring whoosh of flames forcing the door open and a tower of flames rushed up the stairwell and out the open roof door reaching high into the sky in its quest for air. Kaito winced as the proximity of the fireball first scalded then melted the nylon threading of his gloved hand holding the door.

Almost as soon as it had started, the flames disappeared back down the stairwell leaving the concrete black and scorched. After waiting a moment to make sure there was no repeat performance, he was running down the stairs and bursting into the third floor of the office building. To his side, what was once a glass enclosed private office was burning fiercely, the fire having found a large source of wood in what was probably a very beautiful desk at some point. The thick smoke made seeing anything above three feet off the ground impossible and Kaito was forced to crouch down almost to a crawl to make his way through the rubble. Everywhere around him, debris from the ceiling littered the room and the hot floor was making terrifying cracking sounds. He made a wide sweep with his flashlight across the room and paused over a large mound of rubble in the center of the room.

The air conditioning duct had collapsed into the room leaving a fire-free mound of rubble and a 'path' of sorts following the line of aluminum ducting running almost to the burning office behind him.

Not quite sure why he was doing it, he followed the duct into the blazing fire, rushing along the only pathway he could see in the burning room. He wound up in the center of the room amid horrible snapping sounds and the first actual cracks in the floor he had seen. He frowned looking around for any sign of Conan. The building didn't have much time left before it collapsed. He was about to go back the way he came when he noticed a flash of red and white peeking out from under the aluminum ducting. He climbed his way closer to a spot where the ducting had crashed down over a desk crushing it into splintered debris. Kaito shoved aside the ducting uncovering the red and white shoe attached to a leg further buried.

Swallowing thickly in fear, Kaito violently shoved the rest of the heavy ducting aside, vibrating the severely cracked floor under them digging the unconscious body of Edogawa Conan out of the broken wood of the desk and smoldering insulation. Underneath the debris, Conan was curled tight defensively, not protecting his head as Kaito expected, but around his wadded up coat. Encouraged by the fit of trembling the floor had started, Kaito reached into the pile and scooped Conan out, praying the boy didn't have a spinal injury.

Carrying the child-sized detective, he quickly made his way back to the stairwell. Even unconscious, Conan still had his arms wrapped tight around his jacket. Curled in a tight ball, all Kaito could see was the top of Conan's head, a mess of sooty brown hair. He couldn't even tell if the boy was breathing.

Bursting out onto the roof, Kaito ran full speed to the closest building edge, adjusting Conan's light weight against his chest and jumped activating the hang glider in midair. With a dive to work up speed he banked over the now fiercely burning building using the hot air to climb quickly and disappear from sight into the clouds. Below, the red and white lights of the fire department converged on the burning building on the verge of collapse.

~_Fin~_

/

/

Research Notes:

40.3C = 104.6F

40.5C = 105F

39C = 102.3F

Strep Throat – Strep throat is a contagious disease caused by the bacteria streptococcus. It usually presents suddenly with a sore throat painful enough to make talking or swallowing difficult. Symptoms include: inflamed tonsils with white spots, difficulty swallowing, sudden high fever (my personal best is 103.7F), headaches (one of the earliest symptoms to show up), malaise, rash, hives, chills, loss of appetite, ear pain, swollen lymph glands in the neck. Left unchecked and untreated, strep can cause dangerous complications such as: scarlet fever, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, glomerulonephritis (can cause kidney failure). Most often strikes children and teenagers.

The Strep Test (Rapid Strep Test): Otherwise known as the q-tip of death. The doctor takes a really long q-tip, about a foot long (or that's what it looked like to me when I was a kid) dips it in a gel and takes a swab of the tonsils to grow a culture to see if the bacteria that grows is streptococcus. I freakin' HATE this test as I had to go through it every Christmas vacation of my childhood life since I caught strep every winter break like clockwork. You think at some point the doctors would notice the pattern and just give me the damn pills without stabbing me in the throat every single time. U_U I hate strep.

Gun positions: When holding a gun with its safety off but you aren't ready to use it yet, one holds it with the muzzle pointed down at a slight angle. This is called 'low ready' …unless one is in the company of others in which this is a perfect opportunity for getting shot in the foot. When among others, you hold your elbows close the body and bend them holding the muzzle pointed to the sky, this is called 'high ready.'

Gin vs Jin: In the Japanese pronunciation of Gin's name 'g' is pronounced like the 'g' in 'get' and the Japanese word 'gin' means silver. (as explained in Detective Conan movie 5) To pronounce his name as in the alcoholic drink 'gin' it would sound like the Japanese 'j' thus Ran and Megure's confusion over the name pronunciation. And as for Vodka, there's no 'v' in the Japanese alphabet and 'b' is the common substitute as fans of Sailor Venus already know.

The science of a **Backdraft** – A backdraft occurs when fire consumes so much of a room's oxygen that combustible gases produced by the fire cannot ignite. The room essentially becomes a ticking time bomb waiting for a new influx of oxygen such as opening a window or door in order to complete combustion. A room in which a backdraft is in effect exhibits certain signs that firefighters look for. The smoke in the room may appear brown or black when viewed through an exterior window, glass in the windows may have cracked from the heat or be vibrating because of the pressure difference, the room may be soot heavy because the soot can't ignite (soot will have collected inside the windows and in cracks around the room, smoke that has found a small hole or crack to escape from may come out in small puffs around the edges of windows and doors, and the room may also be pulling air into itself through holes or cracks around windows and doors. (enDOTwikipediaDOTorg/wiki/Backdraft)

Eps mentioned this chapter include 345 Head-to-Head Match With the Black Organization, Two Mysteries of the Night of the Full Moon (and the arc surrounding this ep) and 276 Case of the Policeman's Missing Notebook.

AN:

First off, I'd like to apologize to the FBI for any inconvenience you may have suffered listening to my cell phone conversations and tagging my IP. I really do swear that looking up the American Embassy in Japan on google satellite maps followed by researching correct positions for holding pistols and rifle ammo was purely **research** for a work of fiction. And sorry for the cell phone conversations about hacking websites, breaking through secure websites, and burning down buildings. Although if you're still tracking me this far… are you hiring? Oh yeah, and google maps satellite view is AWESOME!

Thanks to my friend Rynok for his help with my computer tech research.

I finally noticed that the spacers I put in previous chapters aren't showing up so I've re-upped my early chapters and made minor changes to fix my bad grammar. Sorry this one was late. I got nothing done in June. I had to rush to finish my costume for Akon 2010 which was AWESOME! I was the only Kid there, I got asked for hugs a lot which was weird but fun… except for those drunk guys Friday night. That was _not_ fun. But I was able to buy actual cells from detective conan which included the artist's preliminary sketches. Almost the next week I had another con and my first time playing cosplay chess. As Kid, I played the King's side knight, white side of course. If you've never played cosplay chess, you stand in for the chess pieces on a live-action chess board while two players play the game. When your piece takes another, you have to kill that person 'in character' and if you get taken you have to die 'in character.' Since Kid doesn't kill, I lured people off the board with candy when ever I 'killed' someone. It was fun. I also apparently left my usb with my already edited chapter 4 and ~4~ and the rest of this story for that matter, there and didn't notice I had lost it for several weeks. Someone found it and I was able to get it back about two weeks ago. Aside from that, I had to move out of my room for renovations and everything is in boxes in the hallway. It also means I have no internet right now. I currently have to borrow Barnes and Evil's internet after work with only a window of about 15-20 minutes before they close. So ends my lame excuse for this chapter being so late. See you next chapter.

/

/

/


	7. Chapter 4 Metropolitan Police Detective

Disclaimer: not mine. Movie-verse and Anime-verse.

Summary – _For Takagi-puppy and Sato-kitty._

/

/

**~ Chapter 4 ~ Metropolitan Police Detective Story ~**

/

Yamato and Uehara watched Takagi disappear into his room. From her spot on the couch, Sato allowed herself one more cleansing breath and started gazing around, fully observing Takagi's apartment for the first time. Unlike Chiba's cluttered apartment, Takagi's was neat and organized, almost spartan except for the impressive entertainment center housing a top of the line television and surround sound system that must have set him back several paychecks. She gave a fond smile. Somehow, she had almost expected his apartment to be absentmindedly disordered.

"So, what exactly did Takagi-kun explain before I got here?" Sato asked focusing her attention back to the matter at hand before she could embarrass herself with the full realization that this was her first time in Takagi's home. Yamato looked her in the eye, still holding the hint of skepticism.

"He mentioned to us about how you were targeted and shot at during the mahjong case," he said with a disbelieving frown. "I would really like to know why you kept such a potentially important fact like that to yourself during the case," he muttered with an edge of accusation. "I certainly would have thought it _important _to mention that police were under fire at the time. What if someone else had been targeted or if things had escalated."

Sato met his frown evenly. She quietly pulled the small jar from her pocket and handed it to him. Yamato and Uehara both took turns inspecting the fragments as an unsettling stillness filled the room while the two Nagano detectives inspected the solid proof that the police had been under someone's sniper scope during the confusing case.

"I'm sorry we kept things to ourselves but at the time I had no way of knowing which of us was the mole," Sato replied evenly.

"It's alright," Uehara smiled in understanding. "We would have made the same call. Kan-chan's just angry there was something this serious going on during the case and he wasn't part of it." She blithely ignored Yamato's glare shifting to her. "Your partner also mentioned that you found possible evidence at Shindou-san's home."

Sato nodded. "It may be what the third party that delayed us was looking for. I don't suppose either of you know how to develop film?"

The two Nagano detectives shook their heads as Takagi returned from his bedroom with the canvas bag from Shindou's apartment slung over one shoulder and the laptop in his arms. He paused next to Sato to dig out a couple of boxes of paperclips and push-pins from a pocket and handed them to her. He unloaded the bag and laptop on his coffee table where Yamato and Uehara eyed them greedily, much the way Sato and Takagi had in Hamano's office.

"We'll have to wait on the laptop for a while," Takagi said lightly. "I'm afraid it's dead."

"It's what_?_!" Yamato and Sato exclaimed simultaneously.

"It's out of power," Takagi explained slowly, realizing he was in the presence of the non-tech savvy. "Just give me a minute and I'll have the rest of our paperwork printed," he said, hurrying to his computer in the corner of the room.

Reassured the precious laptop was safe, Sato pulled her gloves on and unzipped the canvas bag. She started unloading reams of files and folders. "Take a look," she said handing Yamato the journal. "We found this under her mattress. It still had fibers from the fabric under her box spring so she took it out recently."

Yamato sat back in the couch flipping through the pages of coded gibberish. "What the hell is this?" he muttered, turning the book on its side much the same way she had.

"We don't know," Sato sighed. "We were thinking maybe Kudo-kun might be able to figure it out."

"That teenage detective that made the papers about a year ago?" Yamato asked gruffly. "I've never met him but maybe you could have the kid at Mouri-san's detective agency take a look." Over his head, Sato exchanged a haughty superior look with Takagi.

Next to him, Uehara started rifling through a stack of papers from a folder she had pulled from the pile. "These all look like legal briefs. What's 'declination of proposal 251'?"

Across the coffee table, Sato made a sour face. "251? That stupid ruling cost the department almost one fourth of our budget last year. I don't know a single person in the department that wasn't angry about that one."

"How about proposal 146? It's dated three years ago," she supplied helpfully.

Sato crossed her arms and thought hard. "I remember that one," Takagi said, joining Sato on the floor with a freshly printed stack of papers. "I was just out of the Academy when that passed. That's the ruling that pulled almost two hundred officers off the street. A lot of police were let go around that time. I remember being worried I wouldn't find a job," he added sheepishly.

"That's right," Sato frowned deep in thought. "We had the highest number of unsolved crime in decades that year city-wide because we just didn't have the man-power. Our department was lucky to not be hit very hard because Megure-keibu was always asking Kudo-san for help in between his deadlines."

"Wouldn't it be interesting if all of these briefs caused your department trouble in some way," Yamato muttered offhandedly, absently flipping through pages in the journal. A still silence fell across the room and the four detectives exchanged tense looks.

Uehara leaned forward, closer to the two Beika-cho detectives. "231, dated last year," she said softly.

"Budget cut, delayed our proposal to outfit every officer from the rank of detective and up with a laptop," Takagi recited quietly while the two Nagano detectives watched expectantly.

"198, two years ago," Uehara continued.

"Denied our proposal to update the forensics lab equipment," Sato answered softly with her eyes closed searching her memory.

"232, two years ago."

"Another budget cut. Killed our plan to create a digital search engine for old case files," Takagi sighed in mourning for a proposal he had been looking forward to.

Next to him, Sato drew herself up on her knees and held out her hand expectantly to Uehara who handed over the folder. She settled down with Takagi looking over her shoulder while she flipped through file after file of budget rulings that had, in some way, cost the Tokyo Police Department dearly. "They're all the same," she confirmed quietly. "Some of these go back more than ten years." She dropped the folder down on the low table in disgust. Yamato let out a low whistle, staring at the thickness of the folder.

"Are we supposed to believe Shindou-san found some kind of link between all these files, undermining the police city-wide?" Uehara asked.

"So what's an artist of only local fame doing with government files?" Yamato mused putting the journal down in lieu of looking through the folder himself. Running a gloved hand over the stack, he paused suddenly pulling a sheet from the pile and holding it up to the light. "These aren't copies," he said passing the page to Takagi sitting across from him. "Look, you can barely feel it but they're embossed and they have a watermark."

Takagi held the page to the light to check for himself with Sato leaning against him to see. "I know that company," Sato muttered studying the watermark. "That's a pretty high-end paper manufacturer."

"So these are all originals," Takagi frowned staring at the rest of the pile on the table. He opened a new folder and pulled a new file to check against the light.

"How did Shindou-san get these?" Uehara asked.

Takagi frowned rifling through the pages he'd just printed. "I don't know if there's a connection," he frowned, pulling out the list of victims from the mahjong case Shiratori had made complete with color pictures of each victim, "but we do have someone _here_ we can connect to a government office."

The other three crowded around the page where the picture of Okakura Masaaki, parliament secretary, stared up at them. Sato pressed her lips tightly together while she ran through a mental checklist of the two week old case. "You know, we confirmed that all seven of the suspects were in the same hotel on the same floor the night of the hotel fire. But we never checked to see if any of them knew each other prior to that night or who they associated with at the hotel," she mused. "It's a long shot, but this might be our connection."

Across the table, the two detectives nodded in agreement. "Uehara, take a copy of this page and find out if any of the hotel staff can place these two together," Yamato ordered passing her the page of headshots. Sato and Takagi frowned equally at his words ready to argue their claim to investigate. "I don't mean to step on Tokyo's toes," he told them heading them off, "but you two already have someone watching you. We can move around without anyone noticing us."

Sato frowned at the good sense he made. "Fine," she sighed, not quite keeping her irritation at not going out of her voice. She dropped her head into her crossed arms on the coffee table with an aggravated huff. Above her, Uehara left their small encampment around the bag of evidence to book a quick flight to Kyoto.

"I've got a flight at 5:30 in the morning," Uehara said rejoining them.

Yamato nodded his acknowledgement. "I hope you don't mind if I stay and help you two," he asked politely. "She can get things done faster if I stay behind," he explained giving a nod to the crutch leaning against the couch.

"It's fine," Takagi muttered in a distracted tone, rifling through a new folder of briefs.

Next to him, Sato raised her head from her pout and tapped the ignored laptop to get his attention. "What do you need to do to get this working?" she asked drawing everyone's attention to Takagi.

"Oh, right," Takagi blushed under the sudden scrutiny. "I just need an AC power cable. I probably have one in storage we can use."

"That's all that's keeping us from finding out what's on this thing_?_!" Yamato muttered impatiently. "Hurry it up then, we all want to see what's on this."

"A-ah right." Takagi picked himself up off the floor and crossed over to the coat closet by the door that was now full of boxes.

Sato gave a glance to her watch and the late hour. She got up with less grace than her partner considering the fact her modest skirt-suit made getting up off the floor much more difficult. "I'll be right back," she muttered to the room, escaping to her car. She returned minutes later with a gym bag slung over her shoulder. "Takagi-kun, is it alright if I change in your room?" she asked.

From the closet, Takagi looked back enough to see her completely innocent expression asking his permission to undress in his room. Flushing furiously, it was all he could do to nod his head and turn back to the closet before Sato noticed what his wayward thoughts were doing to his complexion. He waited until he heard his bedroom door shut before pulling out a box labeled simply 'extras' and rejoined the group in his living room.

"Hey, you okay?" Yamato asked from his spot on the couch looking over the journal again. "You look kind of red."

"He's fine, Kan-chan. Leave him alone," Uehara said with a knowing smile. Takagi ducked his head in embarrassment and absorbed himself in digging through his box of tangled black cables.

Sato returned from his room much more relaxed in her gym shorts and tank top. "I borrowed your closet for my suit," she said dropping down in her spot next to him, oblivious of his glance at her bare long legs folded under her and dropping his gaze back to the power bar he was untangling.

"Takagi-kun?" Uehara smiled when he looked back up at her with a startled, guilty expression. "Would you mind if I borrow your kitchen? It looks like we'll be up for a while so I think some coffee would be helpful."

Takagi nodded his assent and busied himself plugging the computer into a nearby power strip. Sato and Yamato leaned closer to watch the screen burst into life and the login screen appear.

"It needs a password," Takagi frowned, bending over the laptop.

"So it's no good?" Sato asked, hanging over his shoulder staring at the login screen. "We can't get in?"

"I wouldn't say that." Takagi grinned at the stubborn screen's beckoning challenge. "I just need to jump through a few more hoops." He powered down the laptop and pulled his box of cables close. "Ah, Uehara-san. Behind you, there's a tool set in the drawer closest to the pantry. Can you bring that to me?" In the kitchen, Uehara did as she was told while Takagi wrestled with a pair of short red and black wires that didn't want to leave its knot of cables.

"Here," Uehara said passing him the plastic case of tiny screwdrivers.

"Thanks," Takagi said with a smile. He pulled the tangled mass of cables from the box and set them in Sato's lap next to him. "Sato-san, I need this one but the ends are very delicate. Can you get it loose for me?" Not waiting for an answer, he passed the half-full box to Yamato on the couch. "Yamato-san, somewhere in here, there's a red external drive casing. I need you to find it."

"A red what?" the man asked in confusion.

"I'll help, Kan-chan," Uehara said pulling the box out of his hands and setting it firmly between them. "I think I know what he means."

Pulling a tiny screwdriver from his set, Takagi flipped the laptop upside down and attacked the tiny screws on the bottom of the laptop unnoticed by the others busy with the tasks he gave them. No one in the room paid him much attention until he was cracking the laptop open exposing the wire-filled innards.

"Whoa, whoa!" Yamato exclaimed loudly, drawing everyone's attention to the open laptop. "What the hell are you doing_?_!"

"Takagi-kun, don't break it!" Sato exclaimed, dropping her mess of cables to pull on his arm.

"Relax," Takagi grinned, carefully removing a silver metallic rectangle. "All we need is this. Sato-san, did you get those wires out?"

"Oh, here," she said handing him the short wire with a white plastic end and black comb-looking thing with gold teeth. Takagi looked up expectantly at the two detectives on the couch. Uehara silently handed him the case. The three detectives crowded around Takagi while he worked, quickly assembling the external.

"So what does doing all this do?" Yamato asked curiously, watching the Beika-cho detective work.

Takagi gave them a quick grin and rushed his newly completed drive to his computer. "It means, we don't have to login to see what's on this thing," he explained, happily working within his realm. He pulled a spare usb cable from his desk drawer and hooked the external in to his computer, completely oblivious of the three detectives hanging over him watching. He gave a low whistle after looking at the properties of the drive.

"What is it?" Sato asked staring at the colored pie chart and not understanding a thing.

"This is a 720 gig hard drive and he almost filled it," Takagi answered. He looked back at his audience exchanging confused looks. "Never mind," he sighed bending back to his work. He frowned when clicking on a folder once again brought up a password window. "Damn," he muttered to himself. "He locked the folders."

"I thought you didn't need a password," Yamato frowned.

"Whatever's on this drive, he really didn't want anyone to see it," Takagi mused. A few computer clicks later and the screen was filled with a counter cycling through numbers and letters almost too fast for them to see. "It'll take a while but this program will get us in." Around him, the other three gave disappointed sighs and wandered back to the table of papers to sift through.

/

Takagi looked up from his computer screen as Sato leaned against the doorframe to his bedroom, slipping her pumps back on. "Is it time to go already?" he wondered aloud, giving a glance to the early morning light peeking through his balcony sliding window.

"Yes," she said softly, trying not to wake Yamato dozing on the couch with a light snore. "No, don't get up," she stage whispered when Takagi gathered his legs under him. "I already called you in sick."

"What_?_!" Takagi exclaimed loud enough for Yamato to shift in his sleep.

"Shh!" she warned. "Practically all of our evidence is in this one room. One of us needs to be here at all times," she reasoned. "If whoever these people are were willing to search our desks in a room full of detectives in the middle of a police station, it's only a matter of time before they try to search our homes."

Takagi stilled, absorbing her words with a worried chill down his back. "…you think they'd go that far?"

"…I do," Sato answered quietly. She held his gaze quietly while the only sound in the room was the occasional snore of the Nagano detective.

"Alright," Takagi finally answered with a sigh, sitting back down. "You'll be careful, though… right?"

"Of course," she said firmly. "And remember this afternoon, we're _both_ going to the Mouri's."

"Right, Conan-kun," Takagi mused, drawing his knees up to his chest.

Sato nodded. "We have to get answers from him. Even if we have to get him away from Ran-chan."

"Okay." Takagi glanced at the clock in the corner of his screen. "You better get going. You'll be late." Sato nodded, hastily pouring herself a cup of coffee in his kitchen.

"Right, enjoy your day off," she smiled. "And if anyone calls, you fell and sprained your ankle," she tossed over her shoulder disappearing out the door. Takagi stared after her with a lingering smile and settled back into watching his computer cycle through number combinations.

"So what's this about Mouri-san's brat?"

Takagi jumped, a hand clutching his chest over his racing heart, glaring at the detective on his couch who was most definitely _not_ sleeping.

* * *

Already sensitive and suspicious of her surroundings, Sato couldn't shake the creepy feeling that people were staring at her. With every move she made around the squad room, she seemed to be drawing attention. Of course, everyone seemed to find something else to look at when she actually tried to catch someone looking at her. It was making the fine hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stand on end. She sighed with relief when Yumi finally walked in the door. "Oh, thank goodness," she muttered under her breath, pouncing on the chance to hide. She'd never felt so unnerved at work before.

Yumi stood stock still, frozen in place, as Sato rushed up to her. All she could do was stare Sato up and down while her friend hurried to her.

"Yumi, why is everyone staring at me?" Sato whispered.

Yumi stared at her in open in amazement before speaking up. "Miwa-chan… you do realize you're wearing the same clothes you had on yesterday, right?"

"They're not _that_ wrinkled, are they?" Sato whispered back. "They looked okay to me before I put them on this morning."

Yumi cracked a smirk and slipped an arm around Sato's neck to pull her into a conspiratorial huddle. "I take it you didn't stay at home last night, huh. You weren't on a stakeout last night so that can only mean one thing." She pulled Sato closer to whisper in her ear. "How was your stay at Takagi-kun's apartment last night?"

"Eh? How did you know?" Sato asked with a worried frown, her eyes giving a cautious look around the room for suspicious behavior. "I was sure we weren't followed."

"Oh, my dear Miwa-chan is finally growing up!" Yumi exclaimed in melodramatic flare, hugging Sato tightly. "To think she's finally had her first walk of shame!"

"What are you talking about?" Sato asked, forcibly broken from her search.

"Where's Takagi-kun? I have to hear about this from his end too before your fan club tears him to ribbons," Yumi gushed in excitement.

"Ah. Takagi-kun isn't coming today," Sato replied ignoring Yumi's chatter in favor of rehearsing the prepared story in her mind. And was it her imagination or was the room suddenly much quieter. "The doctor told him to stay home and rest for a few days. I was just looking for Megure-keibu to let him know."

The room was suddenly very still as the not-so-secret mob loosely known as the Sato Fan Club leaned closer in their seats to hear the two's conversation. Yumi gave her a sharp look of impressed bewilderment and thinly veiled curiosity. "Miwa-chan, what did you do to him_?_!"

"I didn't do anything. He slipped and sprained his ankle on his own. He can barely move on his own right now," Sato huffed with the ease of a lie that had been practiced in her car the entire way to work that morning.

Yumi stared at her in disappointment. "You mean you were at his apartment all night because he hurt himself_?_!" she muttered in disgust. Around them, a room full of distraught men breathed sighs of relief which were quickly replaced by many a jealous hand clenching at the thought of Takagi's privileged 'Nurse Sato' care.

"Um… Yes, that's it exactly," Sato smiled, disengaging herself from Yumi's grip. A glance around the room made it plain that everyone was listening to their exchange.

"I give up," Yumi muttered in defeat. "It's too early for me to handle you two without coffee."

Sato watched her leave the room with slumped shoulders and tried to settle herself at her desk with everyone's attention still firmly on her. It kept her on edge and she couldn't seem to stop tugging and smoothing her suit self-consciously after Yumi had drawn her attention to it. She sighed in relief for the second time that morning when Shiratori came in for his shift an hour later. In her nervous state being watched by most of the room all morning, she missed Shiratori's arching eyebrow at her clothes over his morning coffee.

"Thank goodness you're here," she muttered softly so only he could hear. "Everyone that's walked in has been staring at me all morning."

"I… see," Shiratori answered slowly watching the entrance and that indeed everyone who walked in _was_ eyeing Sato oddly.

"…and Shiratori-kun…?" Sato continued.

"Hmm?"

"…what's a 'walk of shame'?" Sato asked in innocent confusion. She had to wait for his response while he choked on his mouthful of coffee.

* * *

"So what's this about Mouri-san's brat?" Yamato asked watching Takagi jump a mile.

"You weren't asleep!" Takagi exclaimed in an accusing tone.

"Of course not. I've had four cups of coffee," Yamato muttered hunching himself forward. "Now why was your partner so insistent on questioning the kid?"

Takagi sighed, feeling his heart resume a normal rhythm after his earlier fright. "Conan-kun recognized the car that shot at us. It's possible he knows who it was."

Yamato frowned, absorbing the implications involved. "The kid _told_ you he knows who shot at you?" he asked seriously.

"We… sort of… cornered him into revealing the information," Takagi replied.

"That's strange, don't you think?" Yamato mused, "I would have expected the kid to come forward if he knew something about this third party of yours."

"I know," Takagi mused, staring with unfocused eyes at the password cracking program, "but instead he's been avoiding us. That's what has me worried."

"If he knows about who shot at you, do you think he knows something about that John Doe who was impersonating your superintendent or the helicopter attack?"

"We don't know," Takagi mused quietly, "but we did find out some information yesterday that places Conan-kun outside the tower during the attack. No one on the ground mentioned seeing him, so he must have been outside of the Main Observatory. He might have seen Kudo-kun being attacked by the helicopter."

"Would this 'Kudo-kun' have told him to hide what he saw or lie to the police about what he saw?"

"Kudo-kun would never interfere with a police investigation like that," Takagi returned with a fierce glare.

Yamato studied Takagi's stubborn stance before letting the subject drop. "Sorry. You know the guy better than I do, but the question needed asking."

Takagi continued frowning back until they were both distracted by the musical chiming of the computer program. "Pisco," he read aloud from the flashing window. "What does that mean?" Next to him, Yamato shrugged, equally confused. No longer blocked, Takagi entered the large folder and located a mess of files, each many gigs in size. He double-clicked the first file so helpfully named 'untitled 1' and they were watching the feed of a security camera on the first floor of Foot Town aimed to watch visitors entering the front door, the time recorded at the bottom of the screen reading '9:36pm'.

"It looks like the laptop recorded a little more than twenty minutes before losing power," Takagi muttered reading the time length at the bottom of the video screen.

"9:36, huh," Yamato scowled, "So, that bastard set this up _before_ knocking us all out."

Takagi wisely kept his mouth shut while he reset the movie's speed to 1x. They silently watched a group of unnaturally fast moving tower employees led by Ran run for the elevator.

"We're going to have to watch every video feed this guy recorded, aren't we?" Yamato sighed.

"I'll make more coffee," Takagi offered quietly.

* * *

It was mid-afternoon when Takagi left Yamato watching a west facing camera from the first floor, their fourth video feed in a row so far of the entrance lobby, to join Sato in her car. "Ready to finally get some answers?" Sato asked pulling out of his apartment parking lot amid screeching tires.

"A-Ah… Sato-san? Is everything okay?" Takagi asked hesitantly when she took another aggressive turn.

"Shiratori-kun was being a jerk and wouldn't answer my questions today," she replied with a heavy pout.

"Oh, okay," Takagi finally said when it didn't look like Sato planned to say anything else, or slow down. He elected to stay quiet the rest of the trip.

/

"Do we have a plan on how we're going to handle this?" Takagi asked staring up at the windows of the Mouri Detective Agency.

"I'll handle Ran-chan," Sato replied decisively. "You find _some_ way to get Conan-kun alone."

They climbed the stairs quietly, passing by Kogoro's office door without drawing his attention, and knocked on the door of the third floor apartment. They were both shocked when a tired and slightly frazzled Ran opened the door in rumpled pajamas.

"Is that you Araide-sen…" Ran froze in surprise staring at the two detectives. "Sato-keiji_?_! I-I'm so sorry. I completely forgot you were coming."

"That's alright, Ran-chan," Sato smiled brightly recovering her composure quickly. "I didn't realize the schools were on holiday. Did Conan-kun have a day off, too?" Slowly but surely, Sato backed Ran back into the apartment so she and Takagi could gain entry.

"He's… home… but there wasn't a holiday today," Ran replied following after the two detectives who had moved around her into the apartment. Sato and Takagi gave the living room area and kitchen a subtle but thorough sweeping while Ran closed the door.

"Is he out with his friends?" Sato asked conversationally. "We really need to ask him a few things."

"No, he's sick in bed. I've been looking after him all night." Ran quickly caught up with the two detectives. "I'm sorry Sato-keiji, but you'll have to interview him some other time."

Sato sent Takagi a quick look over Ran's shoulder. "Are you sure, Ran-chan?" Sato asked carefully shifting until she had Ran's back to Takagi. The instant Takagi was out of Ran's view he disappeared down the hallway toward the bedrooms. "We really do need to speak with him as soon as possible," Sato insisted taking hold of Ran's arm and guiding her away from the bedrooms. "It would only take a few minutes. He doesn't need to leave bed. We'll try to make it quick."

"No! You are **not** talking with him right now. He's in no condition to speak with you, especially about **that**," Ran replied, setting her stance stubbornly in front of the hallway entrance.

Sato frowned, absorbing Ran's final statement. "Why do you not want us to ask Conan-kun about that case in particular?" she asked, pouncing on Ran's emphasis. Ran stared back into her stern gaze. She hid a smirk when Ran's shoulders slumped in defeat.

/

Takagi made his way down the Mouri's hallway trusting Sato to keep Ran busy. He tried Kogoro's room first, expecting to find Conan in his futon. When that came up with nothing, he was forced to risk being seen creeping back into view of the living room to try Ran's door. Making sure Sato was in deep conversation with Ran, he quickly slipped in Ran's door and kept flush against the wall, silently closing the door and letting go of the knob without making a sound.

He turned back to look around the room only to see an equally pajama clad Conan holding onto Ran's window sill for dear life with one hand while his other arm and most of his head were leaning out the partially opened third-story window.

Takagi rushed forward to snatch the small child up and away from the window hazard. "Conan-kun!" he gasped aloud, louder than he meant and snapped his mouth shut guiltily realizing Ran could easily have heard him. At the window, a startled Conan snapped his head around at his exclamation and promptly crumpled to the floor. Takagi caught Conan under his arms and lifted him up to eye level, shocked at how light the boy was. Conan hung limply from his arms and Takagi could easily feel the heat radiating from him despite the goosebumps covering his exposed arms.

Takagi took one look at Conan's swimming, unfocused eyes and gave a heavy sigh. '_Ran-san is right_,' he mused to himself. There would be no questioning of the boy today. "You're too sick to have the window open, Conan-kun. You'll make yourself worse." Takagi held the dangling child against his chest to free an arm to scoop under him and quickly shut and locked the dangerous window. At the sound of the window clicking in place, Conan slumped against him with a pathetic whine.

Takagi couldn't help himself from cupping a worried hand to check Conan's temperature and frowning at the boy's slightly damp clammy skin. In his arms, Conan lay limply against him without protest. He physically directed Conan's gaze up to meet his and deepened his frown watching Conan's eyes swim drunkenly trying to focus on him.

"Conan-kun? Do you think you can answer some questions?" he asked, brushing the sweat plastered bangs off Conan's forehead.

The boy in question stared back blankly with unfocused eyes for a confused moment before answering with a raspy "Huh?"

Takagi sighed, carrying him back to Ran's bed. "It's alright, Conan-kun. It can wait until you feel better." He tucked the sheets tightly around Conan hoping to curtail any further adventures with high-storied windows. He carefully slipped back out the door where Sato was pulling worry after worry out of Ran. Catching Sato's eye, the two detectives took their leave.

"Well?" Sato asked expectantly once they were back outside.

"No good," Takagi answered with a shake of his head. "He's so sick right now, I'm not even sure he understood what I was saying."

Sato gave a frustrated sound looking back up to the third-story windows. "You couldn't get anything?" Takagi shook his head again apologetically. "…what kind of shape is he in?" Sato finally asked with a guarded expression.

"He's really bad," Takagi answered. "He's always been small for his age but he weighs next to nothing right now."

"Ran-san _did_ say he hasn't been eating much lately and today he wouldn't eat anything at all," Sato mused staring up at the Mouri residence's third floor windows.

"…I think he was delirious," Takagi continued. "He couldn't focus on me at all and I think he was trying to climb out the window."

"From the third floor?" Sato exclaimed in surprise. "Maybe we should let Ran know what he almost did so she'll keep a closer eye on him."

Takagi watched her continue to stare up at the apartment with speculating eyes. "Is something wrong?" he asked tentatively.

Sato spared him a quick side-glance. "Conan-kun was out until past one in the morning last night," she said in a low voice to a now very still Takagi. "Ran-chan told me he barely made it home before collapsing. It makes you wonder what a second grader is doing out on the streets of Tokyo in the middle of the night," she said catching his eye with a calculating, determined look of her own. "She told me something else," she continued quietly. "Conan-kun has been having intense nightmares since the attack. There's no doubt. He's seen a lot more than we thought he did."

Takagi heaved a heavy sigh. "Worse, he may be investigating by himself." Sato gave him an odd look. "It wouldn't be the first time," Takagi elaborated.

Sato gave an understanding nod trusting Takagi's judgment having known Conan longer. "You think that's why he was out so late," she returned, more statement than question.

"I'm sure of it," Takagi said firmly.

Sato held his gaze firmly and finally started for the car. "He won't be going anywhere for a while. Ran said he's grounded until further notice. As soon as he's well enough to leave home, pick him up," she ordered firmly.

"Pick him up?" Takagi asked trailing after her.

"Yes. Pick him up, arrest him, handcuff him, pick him up and carry him, I don't care," Sato ground out. "Just get him away from here to a place we can interrogate him." Takagi gave a meek nod of agreement and climbed into the car after her.

* * *

Sato perked up when she saw Uehara perched over Yamato's shoulder, watching one of the security videos. "Uehara-san! You're back!" Sato grinned. "Please tell me you have good news and found something."

"'Bout time you two got back," Yamato muttered, pausing the video. "She said she won't say a thing until you two got back."

Uehara's eyes were fairly sparkling while Takagi and Sato settled in around the coffee table and Sato had kicked off her pumps. "I found it," she confirmed to her three sets of eager ears. "One of the senior members of the housekeeping staff confirmed that she saw Okakura-san leave Shindou-san's room to fill her ice bucket but the moment he noticed her in the hallway, she said he became flustered and went back to his own room. She was able to identify both Okakura-san's photo and Shindou-san's. She remembered them so well because of all the guests checked in to the hotel to enjoy Tanabata that year, those two never left the hotel or even the floor until the fire."

"Looks like you were right," Yamato leaned forward to give Takagi a solid clap on the back.

"So, now we have a starting point," Sato affirmed. Takagi dug through the papers he had printed the night before and pulled out enlarged headshots of the victims of the mahjong case. He tacked up the two pictures of Okakura and Shindou with pushpins on one of his bare walls. With scissors and string quickly retrieved from the kitchen, he wound a tight line of string from one pin to the other connecting the pictures with the beginnings of a familiar web chart they often used in cases.

Sato leaned back and snatched a stash of paper from his printer. Pulling a pen from her suit pocket, she quickly scribbled down the words 'evidence/files' and handed it to Takagi. "I think we now have enough evidence to assume Shindou-san got those files from Okakura-san." Takagi obediently tacked the paper underneath the string he had tied connecting the two pictures.

"This guy is a Parliament secretary, right?" Yamato mused leaning forward studying the wall. "Whose office did he work for?"

Sato studied through Shiratori's victim write-ups quickly. "He worked at the office of Takano Mitsuo-san, parliament representative for Minato Ward currently located in Ekoda, but three years ago when the fire happened, their office was located here in Beika." Takagi penned in the new information under Okakura's picture reading 'Ekoda/formerly Beika.'

"And we currently believe this information you found at Shindou-san's apartment is connected or possibly implicates this 'third party' you two told us about," Uehara continued.

"Yes, the ones who visited Shindou-san's place while you two were 'delayed,'" Yamato added gruffly. Sato wrote down the words 'third party?' and handed it to Takagi who tacked it below the two victims and connected each of the two victims to the page. He paused when Sato handed him a new page, reading over the words 'John Doe/Fake Matsumoto, Police Infiltration.' He felt a peculiar chill down his back as he added the paper to the wall next to the 'third party' page and connected the two.

On the couch, Yamato leaned forward to tap the specimen jar on the coffee table making the bullet fragments inside jump. "We know this third party has at least two snipers in a blue sports car from what you've both told us." Sato pressed her lips together in a tight tense line while she wrote the words 'Two Snipers/Blue Car' and handed the page to Takagi to tack on the wall. Once he had finished with the string, Takagi quietly leaned over Sato and silently wrote the single word 'Conan' on a page with Sato looking on and pinned the page next to the blue car page.

After tying the last string, the four detectives looked over the simple chart. "…It looks so… wrong… to see little Conan-kun's name connected _there_," Uehara finally whispered, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room.

"I have a question," Yamato chimed in, giving the wall a final once over. "Both these two lived here in Tokyo. Why would they need to go all the way to Kyoto to meet up?"

"A good question," Sato agreed, staring up at the wall with her eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Ah… Uehara-san. You said that maid saw Okakura-san return to his own room instead of Shindou-san's once he realized someone had seen him. What if for whatever reason, they weren't _supposed_ to be seen together," Takagi ventured hesitantly. The other three detectives stared at him, each consumed by their own racing thoughts.

"If they weren't allowed to meet, it _would_ explain why they went so far away in order to see each other," Sato mused. "And why Okakura panicked when he was seen leaving her room. It's almost like here in Tokyo they were being…"

"…watched," Uehara finished. The four went quiet staring at the wall until a wide yawn from Sato broke the silence.

"Haven't you been up since yesterday?" Yamato asked watching her wipe the slight tears from her eyes. "You ought to get some rest."

"Mmm," Sato mumbled, mid-stretch. "I know. I should head home. Before I leave, did you find anything on the laptop?"

"Not yet. All we've found is a bunch of video files," Yamato grumbled. "And all the videos I've watched have been cameras from the lobby. So far I've seen Ran-san enter the tower with a group of employees five times from five different angles. "

Sato gave a nod and a final stretch. "Alright. Tomorrow you're still staying here," she said to Takagi. "Yumi-chan told me to tell you to stay low for a few days."

"Why?" Takagi asked suspiciously.

Sato shrugged carelessly. "She wouldn't say." Takagi resolved himself to call Yumi before it got too late and find out what she was scheming.

"Okay, tomorrow I'll start researching these files," Uehara volunteered, gesturing to the folders of files on the low table.

"More video watching," Yamato added.

"I'll try to work on the journal," Takagi finished.

"Okay, we've got a plan," Sato smiled. "I'll be back tomorrow after work." She left the three to their work and headed home for a likely lecture from her mother about staying out all night without calling.

* * *

Sato glared at her cell phone's screen still blinking 'message sent.' She had sent seven messages to Kudo's cell number and not had a single response. She slumped over her desk and glared balefully around the room. No one had stared at her today… much. Those that had were now avoiding her. She never realized before how _long_ the day seemed without Takagi to bother. Two desks down, Chiba eyed her oddly while she lazily filled out her report staring at the paper sideways, from her position with her head resting in the crook of her arm.

She was so desperately bored that when someone walked in and she glimpsed Shiratori and Megure walk down the hallway in deep discussion, not even knowing why, she abandoned her report and flew out the door to follow them. Sato rounded a corner in time to watch the two inspectors disappear into a conference room. Making sure the hallway was clear, she nonchalantly leaned against the wall and tilted her head, positioning an ear at the crack where the door edge met wall. Their voices were muffled but understandable. She concentrated hard only to hear Megure slam the folder he was carrying on the conference table.

"I really don't understand what they're thinking anymore," Megure grumbled. "Why on earth would Kiyonaga-kun send a request like this?"

"I agree it _is_ very out of the ordinary they would request we disclose the identities of the minors involved in the Tower Disaster," Shiratori agreed. "We've been turning in our reports on cases without naming minors present every time Kudo-kun requests he not be named for over a year now. Upper management has never asked us to reveal identities before."

At the door, Sato clapped a hand over her mouth and slipped back against the wall for support. Without a second thought, she flung open the door and burst in on the two inspectors.

"…Sato… san?" Shiratori looked up in surprise at Sato yanking on the doorknob to close the door tight behind her.

"Sato-kun, Shiratori-kun and I are having a private meeting," Megure announced with a reprimanding tone. "I'm sure whatever you need can wai…"

Without a word, Sato grabbed the folder sitting on top of the table and backed away several paces to read the memo for herself before it could be taken from her. "It's real," she said in a stunned voice. "The superintendent's office really expects us to disclose protected identities?"

"Sato-kun, that memo was not meant for your eyes," Megure grumbled snatching back his folder.

"Sato-san, were you listening at the door?" Shiratori asked incredulously.

"That doesn't matter," Sato muttered to Shiratori and turned to face Megure. "What do you intend to do about this? You can't possibly be considering listening to them." In her mind, she saw the web chart on Takagi's wall with the words 'police infiltration' ringing in her ears. "Please don't disclose Ran-chan and Conan-kun's identities," she begged desperately.

"Sato-kun. I don't like this either but I can't just ignore the orders of my superiors," Megure replied.

"Can't you stall?" Sato asked grasping at straws. In the pit of her stomach, she couldn't help feeling that it would be disastrous if it were made known that Mouri's daughter and ward, along with Kudo, were present at the tower.

"Actually, Megure-keibu," Shiratori began hesitantly. "That may be what Matsumoto-keishi intended for you to do. He knows perfectly well that Ran-chan and Conan-kun were present. I told him so myself at the hospital when he asked me to inform him of what he missed while he was being held captive."

"So he already knows, yet still sent this memo…" Megure took to pacing the narrow end of the conference room. "I really wish I knew what that man was thinking." He sighed deeply and sank down in one of the table's chairs. "I suppose we can lose the paperwork on this for a week or two."

"Thank you, Megure-keibu," Sato sighed gratefully. She excused herself back into the hallway and hurriedly saved the contents of the memo in her cell phone's note function. More hesitantly, she texted a warning about the upcoming disclosure and sent it to Kudo's phone.

"Sato-san."

With a startled 'eep,' Sato slapped her phone shut and looked over her shoulder at Shiratori behind her. "Yes? Shiratori-kun?"

Shiratori gave her a serious once over but didn't comment on her defensive posture. "I'm not sure if he told you, but I _am_ aware that you and…"

"Shh!" Sato cast a fast look up and down the hall.

Catching her suspicious mood, Shiratori bent closer to her ear. "Sato-san, is there some reason we shouldn't let anyone know Kudo-kun and Mouri-san's two were involved?" he asked in a whisper. Sato looked back at him with a worried expression but said nothing. "Alright," Shiratori finally said, giving her shoulder a comforting pat. "I'll make sure that memo doesn't get answered for as long as I can." With a final pat to her shoulder, he continued down the hall leaving her to herself.

Sato sighed softly and made her way back to her desk.

/

A few hours later, Sato was gathering her things and heading for the elevators. She had studiously avoided speaking or making eye contact with either Shiratori or Megure for the rest of the day… just in case whoever had placed that camera was still around. And she couldn't forget Megure-keibu's worry about Superintendent Matsumoto's recent trend in orders. Alone in the elevator, rather than pressing the floor she had parked on in the neighboring parking garage, she impulsively pressed the button for the top floor.

She rushed down the thickly carpeted hall of the sleek executive offices. Before she could have second thoughts, she flung open the door to the superintendent's office suite.

"Matsubara-san, can you buzz me in? I need to…" Sato stopped in shock when she realized Matsumoto's kindly secretary of eighteen years was gone, replaced by a stern looking hawk of a woman with sharply pulled back hair and a sharp trim black dress.

"Do you have an appointment?" the woman asked in an austere voice just short of rudeness.

"Where's Matsubara-san?" Sato deflected with a sharp frown.

"Matsubara-san retired. She no longer works with the department," Matsumoto's secretary answered sharply. "If you don't have an appointment, I'll have to ask you to leave and make an official appointment twenty-four hours in advance. The superintendent is too busy for walk-ins Officer …"

"It's Detective," Sato returned, forcing herself to swallow her irritation and flash a smile she certainly didn't feel. "And I'm just here as a family friend, I won't take long."

And before anyone could tell her different, Sato had crossed the room and flung open the heavy wooden doors to Matsumoto's office slipping in before the secretary could make it around her desk to stop her. She set off, crossing the plush carpet of the rectangular office where Matsumoto was looking up in surprise at her sudden entrance even as the doors flung open a second time for the secretary chasing after her. Sato stopped short of the desk in surprise herself realizing they weren't alone in the room. Two desks had been added to the room on either side of the pathway from the door to Matsumoto's desk and two aides she didn't recognize now sat flanking the path of anyone who came into the office. Two aides, now alternating dark glares between herself and the secretary who had just caught up to her and closed a hand around her upper arm to force her leave.

"I'm sorry, sir," the secretary gasped out in what sounded like thinly veiled fear. "She forced her way in before I could turn her away."

Sato carefully held her gaze only on Matsumoto but didn't miss the fact that the secretary had addressed her apology to the aide seated on her left. Her eyes calmly searched Matsumoto's now guarded and impassive face despite the fact that her pulse had jumped to a frenzied pitch and her skin was prickling in goosebumps under the woman's grip. Her instincts were screaming in her ears and she had to dig her fingers into the fabric of her skirt to hide the twitch of her fingers begging to reach for her weapon. Something about the room felt coldly dangerous.

The slightest tinge of… _something_ in Matsumoto's eyes told her he'd sensed her awareness of the oppressive aura clinging to the room. Ever so slightly, she tilted her head, eyes still locked on his, toward one of the aides. Recognizing her attempt at asking about the situation, Matsumoto dropped his gaze abruptly back to his paperwork. "Did you need something, Sato-kun?" he asked lightly, absently tapping the pen in his hand on the desk.

"Oh… yes," Sato replied in her most light-hearted voice, ignoring the woman still grabbing hold of her arm. "It's been so long since I've seen you off-hours, I was wondering if you'd join my partner and me for brunch tomorrow. And you _do_ owe me, missing my father's anniversary after all," Sato was hardly aware of her own words, burying her nervousness from being in the oppressive room in chipper cheer.

"Very well, Sato-kun. You're right; I did miss his anniversary. I'll see you tomorrow at…?"

"Oh… um… Columbo, at their new location across from Beika Library," Sato stammered when she found her last minute excuse for bursting in working. "11:00am."

"I'll see you then," Matsumoto replied without looking up from his desk.

Sato limply allowed herself to be pulled away by the secretary's tight hold on her arm. They were almost to the door when she distinctly heard Matsumoto murmuring "…just the daughter of an old friend who passed away…" to the two aides in the room until the closing of the door cut off anything else she could hear.

"From now on please make an appointment in advance," the harried secretary said letting go of her arm and standing arms crossed in front of the inner office door.

Sato rubbed her upper arm, already anticipating a good bruise out of the woman's pinching grip. She let herself out of the suite as quickly as she could without _looking_ like she was running away and waited until the elevator door had closed before she let herself slump against the wall, pressing a hand over her fast beating heart. By the time the elevator doors opened. Sato was composed… although some may have noted she walked to the parking garage doors a little faster than usual.

* * *

Takagi looked up from the middle of his collection of paper balls at Sato when she entered his apartment. Almost immediately, she felt his eyes on her and looked his way.

"We need to talk," she said firmly and giving a quick look around, "Where's Uehara-san?"

"She's running down another folder," Yamato muttered testily, pointing to the stack on the coffee table.

"Have you found anything?" she asked politely.

"Yeah. Three different angles of us detectives getting our asses beat," he muttered, jabbing the pause button freezing the fake Matsumoto in the middle of knocking out Chiba.

"Did something happen, Sato-san?" Takagi asked.

Sato sat down next to Takagi and gathered her thoughts for a moment. "Megure-keibu was sent orders from Matsumoto-keishi to release the names of the minors involved in the incident."

"What_?_!" Takagi exclaimed. "They never made us do that before_?_!"

"What are you talking about?" Yamato asked.

"There've been times in the past that Kudo-kun helps us solve cases," Takagi informed him. "He's recently been in the habit of requesting that we not inform anyone that he helped us. Megure-keibu seals the identities of minors involved in those cases. No one's ever requested we unseal identities."

"I asked Megure-keibu to stall, but I don't know how long that will last," Sato added.

"Is there something wrong with releasing the fact that Mouri-san's two kids and this Kudo-kun were there?" Yamato mused. "I mean your Matsumoto-keishi probably already knows they were there."

"I'm not so sure it's Matsumoto-keishi who wants the information," Sato said softly. "I stopped by his office today. You wouldn't believe what it's like in there," she told Takagi. "Matsubara-san has been replaced, there are two creepy aides with desks in his office. It's like he's under guard."

All three of their eyes slipped to the wall and the words 'police infiltration.' "I'm going to leave another message for Kudo-kun about this," Sato finally said, disappearing into Takagi's kitchen with her phone.

Yamato watched her go and gave Takagi a hard look. "Is this Kudo-kun really so important? He keeps coming up with you two."

Takagi grinned turning back to his code-cracking attempts. "He's really something else. Once you meet him, you'll understand."

"Uh-huh. I'll believe it when I see it," he muttered un-pausing the video. "He can't be more impressive than that kid Mouri-san's looking after." The door opened before Takagi could answer. They looked up to see Uehara bustling in the door.

"Is everyone here?" she asked, locking the door. Sato poked her head out of the kitchen and joined them when Uehara waved her over.

"I finished running down these files," Uehara said dropping a second folder from Shindou's evidence cache. "Your police force isn't the only ones they've been weakening. With all these combined, the customs offices of both the airports and the docks have been practically running on skeleton crews for the last few years. With the current economic recession, they've been able to mask a complete systematic breakdown in customs' securities."

"The only reason to do something like that that I can think of is some sort of smuggling operation," Sato frowned interrupting her pacing. Takagi added the new information to the wall.

"I wonder what they've been sneaking in with how much they've been crippling the port authorities?" Uehara mused.

"Guns, drugs, slaves, x-rated dvds… We don't have enough info!" Yamato growled. "It's like all we have are the edge pieces of a puzzle and nothing from the middle!"

"I have a horrible feeling the more of these files we research, the more we're going to find out how deeply these people have entrenched themselves," Uehara sighed sinking down onto the couch next to her partner.

"We've got no choice but to keep digging," Sato said decisively. "I don't know how hard Shindou-san and Okakura-san must have worked to put all this together but we know for sure _someone_ came after Shindou-san, most likely because of this. We owe it to them to continue this investigation where they left off."

The four of them sat in companionable silence for a while. "I need a break from these videos," Yamato sighed. "I'll go with you tomorrow, Uehara."

"If you do, can you wait until noon before you leave?" Sato asked. "Takagi and I need to take care of something and I don't want to leave this evidence unguarded."

Yamato and Uehara nodded carefully while Takagi looked up in confusion. "What are we doing tomorrow?"

"You and I have a date tomorrow morning," Sato smiled cheerfully.

"Ehh_?_!" Takagi flushed bright red under Uehara's giggle.

* * *

"Thank you for letting me invite you to lunch, Matsumoto-keishi," Sato smiled brightly across the bistro outdoor table.

"Not at all," Matsumoto replied gruffly. "How could I refuse the two detectives I owe my life to." His polite smile slipped somewhat. "To be honest, I would have liked to put you both up for a promotion but the council seems determined to sweep the whole affair under a rug. Political jackasses."

"You don't have to worry about that, we were just doing our jobs," Sato returned. "I actually wanted to speak with you about something not work related." She watched Matsumoto's face carefully as she slid her napkin toward him. "We actually wanted to speak to your daughter. We heard her wedding was just beautiful, and we'd like to ask her about the banquet hall she used. Isn't that right, Takagi-kun?" she smiled sweetly latching onto Takagi's arm. Takagi answered with a brilliant display of choking on his coffee.

Matsumoto smiled pleasantly at the blushing detective's antics before looking back at the table… and Sato's napkin. His smile faltered.

ARE YOU BEING MONITORED?

He paused only a moment before taking another sip of coffee and meeting Sato's serious gaze over Takagi's head. "I'd be delighted to help all I can and let me be the first to offer you both my congratulations." he said with his best political smile in place. "Let me give you their number," he offered.

Sato and Takagi watched closely while he wrote on the napkin.

YES.

"Thank you so much," she smiled brightly taking the napkin back and adding a new message. "And we absolutely must use the florist you had. Can you give us their number too?" She slid the napkin back.

ARE YOU OR YOUR FAMILY IN DANGER?

"Of course," the police superintendent smiled back. "I must admit they did a spectacular job." He passed the napkin back.

YES!

"Well, I must be getting back to the office," he smiled pleasantly with a voice slightly louder than necessary. He dropped a 5000-yen note on the table as he stood.

"Matsumoto-keishi, you don't need to…"

"No Takagi-kun, please let me do at least this much," Matsumoto told him with a serious gaze behind his pleasant smile. "Sato-san. Takagi-san. I wish you luck in your plans," he told them with worried sincerity.

"Oh, we will," Sato smiled taking hold of Takagi's hand atop the table smiling happily. Takagi flushed brilliantly at Sato's touch in front of their superior.

He nodded to them in farewell and turned to leave. "Sato-san. Takagi-san. If you ever _feel the need_ in your wedding plans, please contact my daughter. I'm sure she'd love to help you."

"Of course, Matsumoto-keishi," Sato replied. "If _things get too stressful_ I'll certainly seek her out." Matsumoto held her gaze a moment longer than necessary before nodding slightly and continuing on. Sato watched him leave with a thoughtful look over steepled fingers. "Lets go, Takagi-kun," she finally said after the superintendent was out of sight. She tucked the napkin into her jacket pocket and walked to their squad car dragging him by the wrist.

"Sato-san! Why didn't you tell me you were going to use _that_ as our cover story_?_!" he hissed, fighting the red blush working its way up his neck and to his ears.

"Really? I thought it was a great idea," she answered absently searching her purse for her keys. "Besides, I couldn't have told you ahead of time. Your reactions are too honest to lie to the superintendent decently."

"Oh," he answered feeling oddly disappointed.

"…and you're cute when you're flustered," she added in a small voice with the hint of a blush before slipping in the car.

"WHAT_?_!"

"Takagi-kun, get in!"

/

Takagi watched out the car window while Sato took the highway exit to Haido-cho. "We're not going straight back?" he asked curiously.

"I want to check something," she replied, taking the turnoff toward the ritzy-er neighborhoods. Just past the large grounds of the Suzuki mansion, Matsumoto's western style mansion appeared ahead of them. "Do you see anything suspicious?" Sato asked in a soft voice driving down the residential street as slowly as possible without drawing attention.

Takagi blinked, catching sight of a lonely vehicle parked by the iron wrought fence surrounding the mansion. Sato gave him a side-glance watching him twist in his seat to take a second look at the mansion they had just passed.

"I've seen that motorcycle before," Takagi muttered, "It followed us from the station earlier this week."

"Are you sure?" Sato asked, already knowing what he'd say.

Takagi nodded, pulling out his notebook and pen from his inner pocket. "I got the license number," he said making a quick note. "I'll check it when we get back."

"Okay," Sato replied making a turn back to the highway. They drove in silence, each contemplating the past hour's new information.

"So what are we going to do now," Takagi finally asked.

"I don't know," Sato answered looking completely lost. "I can't believe these… people have gotten so close they're in our own station. I'm… not sure what to do about it. Who do we go to if they've worked their way into the superintendent's office?"

"Lets just get back," Takagi sighed.

* * *

Yamato and Uehara looked up in unison from their study of yet another folder's worth of papers. "Good. Finished your errand?" he asked eager to be out of the apartment for the first time in days.

"Stay," Sato ordered, "We have a big problem." She paused long enough for Takagi to slip around her and commandeer the computer with his notebook ready. "We have confirmation that Matsumoto-keishi is also under surveillance. His family may be at risk too," she sighed sinking down onto the couch next to Uehara.

"These people got hold of your superintendent_?_!" Yamato exclaimed.

"Sato-san, I've checked through the entire DMV and the license of that motorcycle doesn't exist," Takagi said worriedly.

"So, your superintendent's under surveillance and these people have off-grid vehicles," Yamato muttered, "I think this case is getting bigger than we can handle."

"…I know…" Sato muttered leaning an elbow on the couch. "But who do we go to? How do we know who it's safe to discuss this with?" she sighed heavily.

"Sato-san." Takagi turned his computer chair to face them. "We also need to consider Matsumoto-keishi's safety. If we tip off the wrong people that we know he's under surveillance, we might be putting him and his daughter in danger."

The room fell silent while they each considered their options. The loud ring of a cell phone pierced the quiet of the room and they all started at the sudden loud sound.

"Megure-keibu," Sato answered with a silent apology to the room, "What can I do for you?" She moved away from the group to hear better.

"It looks like there's not much we _can_ do for your superintendent until we find out how deep these people have infiltrated the Tokyo police," Yamato mused. "And I thought things were a mess in Nagano."

Distracted, Takagi kept looking back to Sato to check her expression. After a short conversation, Sato came back. "We have an emergency meeting tomorrow morning at five, we both need to be there."

"Five_?_!" Takagi exclaimed.

Yamato and Uehara looked up in interest. "That's an odd time for a meeting," Yamato mused, "Is something going on?" he asked.

"Megure-keibu said we were picked for a special assignment," Sato replied.

Yamato frowned and fixed her with a stern look. "If it looks like something related to this mess, you'll let us know, right?" he said.

"Of course," Sato answered.

"In the meantime, what are we going to do about Matsumoto-keishi?" Takagi asked.

"We can't really do anything without endangering him and his family until we know who's safe to go to," Yamato muttered.

"Lets hope the answer lies in these files Shindou-san provided us," Uehara said softly.

"I really hope we get through the rest of these folders quickly," Sato sighed, picking up a random folder. "I don't know how long Matsumoto-keishi will be safe with these people around."

* * *

"Takagi-kun, it's nice to see you've recovered from your injury," Shiratori said with a smug grin when he and Sato entered conference room one. "No one would _ever_ guess you twisted your ankle three days ago."

The jab, which normally would have had Takagi in a stammering fit, only pulled a wide yawn while he followed Sato to the pair of seats she had claimed. Slightly disappointed in his reaction, Shiratori pulled a seat next to Sato and waited for the meeting to start.

"Ah, Sato-kun, Takagi-kun, you're the last ones I was waiting for. We can start now," Megure said making his way to the door and locking it. Sato and Takagi, along with the rest of the half dozen Division One members sitting around the table, exchanged wary looks.

"I'm sorry for calling you in so early, especially since this happens to be some of yours day off," he said with a nod to Sato and Takagi. "But what we are about to discuss with you must be kept top secret."

"We?" Shiratori asked with a raised eyebrow.

"_Yes. We_," came Nakamori's voice over the phone in the center of the table, previously unnoticed. The detectives in the room focused their attention on the phone and back to Megure.

"Is everyone on your side there?" Megure asked, addressing the phone.

"_Yeah, we've all been here for the last fifteen minutes,_" Nakamori's rough voice crackled over the speaker. "_My task force lives for this shit._"

"I always thought those guys were crazy," Shiratori muttered under his voice just loud enough for the rest of Division One sitting near him to hear.

"Ahem, are we ready to start?" Megure asked sending his team a warning look to silence their muffled snickering. "As you may realize already, we're here to discuss an upcoming Kaitou Kido case. This is going to be a joint project with Nakamori-kun's task force. However, this case is going to be very different than the usual Kido heist. Nakamori-kun?"

"_Listen up, Division One. For the purpose of this case, you are to consider yourself 'on loan' to me. You'll be dressed in task force uniforms and joining us in the chase after that high-flying bastard. However, you and the rest of my force are not, repeat not, to actually catch him._" Nakamori ordered.

The detectives in the room once more exchanged curious looks of disbelief and with the chatter reaching them over the phone, it seemed the task force was doing the same.

"_Sir. Are we participating in another 'chase and find'?_" one of Nakamori's task force officers could be heard asking.

"A 'chase and find'? What is that?" Sato asked loudly to be heard over the phone line.

On the other side of the line they heard Nakamori sigh. "_What I'm about to say must be kept top secret. Until now, only the members of my task force have been privy to this inside knowledge._" The members of Division One leaned closer to the phone almost unanimously. "_There have been times in the past that Kid has helped us solve cases and bring down entire robbery rings. This fact of his occasional help has been kept secret by my task force and I. He will orchestrate an elaborate heist and chase only to lead us straight to the lairs or robbery in progress of many a criminal during the course of his chase and practically hand over whatever he stole immediately. My men have dubbed such occurrences 'the chase and find.' Among my men, it is understood that on such cases we drop our chase of Kid and arrest the criminals he led us to instead._"

"I've never heard of a criminal that helps the police catch other criminals," Detective Fujimaki said amid agreeing nods around the table of Beika-cho's police detectives.

"_Yeah, well, that thief's always been a freak that way_," Nakamori replied amid agreeing murmurs from his own men. "_And to answer what was asked earlier, yes, this will be a chase and find situation. That's why you guys will be working with us. Officially, the reason you're being included is because Kid sent his notice to Megure. Unofficially, only the people in this room and your room will know the true purpose of your inclusion._"

"Everything you learn here is to be kept strictly confidential," Megure added. "If anyone has a problem with that, you may opt not to participate."

"And what _is_ the true purpose of this case?" Detective Horita asked. "The only reason I can see us discussing a 'chase and find' before it actually happens is if we are actively working with Kaitou Kid. Forgive me for saying this, but are we to understand that we are knowingly colluding _with_ Kid on this case?"

Megure hesitated slightly before folding his hands on the table and leaning forward. "…yes, we are," he said finally. "Kido has sent word to us that those who work in the building he intends to target are criminals of the highest and most dangerous kind. All members working this case will be issued bullet proof jackets and heavy round side-arms."

Over the phone, the task force exploded into a confusion of arguing voices. The Division One detectives could just make out a few voices protesting the need for weapons at a Kid heist. "_All right! __**Knock It Off!**_" Nakamori's voice finally rose over the din. "_Kid himself is the one who requested all of you be kept safe on this one! He expects the guys we're busting will be armed! You will wear those jackets _and_ carry a side arm or you're __**not going**__!_" On the Ekoda-cho side of the line, the arguing voices gave in instantly.

Assured that the point had been made, Megure continued. "Kido will be sending his notice late this evening to our target building in order to help minimize our true target hiding or moving items we may consider evidence. The actual heist will be tomorrow at six in the morning. I must stress the time and location of the heist must be kept secret. No press and no Kido fans. This heist will be completely under the table." He looked around the room to his detectives. "Nakamori-kun's task force will be our way into the building. Once there, we are looking for certain suspects to be arrested on sight identified as having participated in a certain high profile event that must remain nameless and possible illegal firearms possession. You will all receive a docket with pictures identifying our targets tomorrow morning before the heist."

"_Only the people in this room and your room will be participating. You'll be checking in tomorrow morning at your respective offices and we'll be meeting at the target building under siren silence,_" Nakamori added over the phone.

"Isn't it weird that the heist is so early in the morning?" Detective Sakurada asked.

"Kido's heist is going to be in a busy downtown neighborhood, so we're trying to minimize any possible casualties," Megure answered. "You will all be informed of the exact location tomorrow morning. Are there any questions?" The detectives present exchanged glances and over the phone there was silence. "You're dismissed," Megure said pulling the phone receiver off its cradle to speak with Nakamori privately.

The detectives filed out of the room, each making their way to the parking garage in the mostly empty building still running on the light night shift. Sato stopped walking the moment they were in the parking garage to stretch. "Lets pick up coffee on our way out. I'm sure Yamato-keiji and Uehara-keiji will be waking up by the time we get back," she said on the way to her car. When no one answered, she looked behind her. Belatedly, Takagi finally walked out of the door to the department with the last of the detectives at the meeting. Sato arched an eyebrow at him.

"Sorry," he said walking quickly to catch up. "When we left, someone was dialing out on their cell and it reminded me of a song but I couldn't remember the name. I guess I got distracted trying to remember," he said sheepishly.

Sato gave him a nod and started back for her car. "So did you remember what song it was?" she asked.

"No," Takagi replied. "It's not that important."

"Fine. Lets pick up some coffee before I fall asleep behind the wheel," she muttered climbing into the car.

* * *

It was well into late evening when Yamato gave a low swear and hurriedly paused the video. "You guys need to come watch this," he muttered rolling Takagi's desk chair back so the others could crowd around him and see the screen. Takagi gratefully dropped his latest attempt at solving the diary's code while Sato and Uehara put down their paperwork to gather around the computer. Once everyone was positioned, Yamato pressed play again on the QuickTime window.

The four detectives watched the silent screen as Conan approached a young man looking forlornly out the Main Observatory's windows. A silent conversation took place between the two until Conan turned to the side and addressed someone just off camera. Takagi and Sato recognized the stubborn set of the boy's shoulders and his set expression from their own experiences of Conan pointing out murderers in the past. Honjou walked into frame and the three formed a rough triangle. The conversation continued between Conan and Honjou with the older man growing angrier by the moment from their profile view of him.

They watched on as Conan talked Mizutani down from his suicidal decision exactly as the young man had reported to them during his statement. A second conversation between Mizutani and Honjou followed with Mizutani's back blocking their view of what must have been his attempt to return the bag of stolen items to Honjou. All they could see clearly was Conan speaking to the two men with a smirk on his face both Takagi and Sato knew very well. Uehara flinched when Honjou pulled his knife angrily on Conan after a particularly heated exchange. And even though it was his second time watching the footage, Yamato also winced seeing the flash of the blade unsheathed with anger-fueled energy in the direction of the boy who drew back defensively with his arms ready to shield himself but stubbornly stood his ground. The two Nagano detectives cast wary glances at the two Beika-cho detectives who showed little to no reaction at the move watching the footage with focused study. Finding the two's reactions more interesting, Yamato stopped watching the screen and watched their reactions already knowing what was coming next.

Still in the middle of his angry tirade, Honjou advanced on the defenseless boy forcing him to back up and sent his knife plunging down. In the middle of Uehara's startled gasp, Takagi shot his hand out and paused the video. "Sato-san, did you see it?" he asked quietly, backing up the film frame by frame until he had Honjou poised at the top of his downward swing. Sato leaned over Yamato studying what Takagi had captured. On the screen Conan was frozen, his left arm crossed in front of him while his right hand seemed to be holding his watch.

"What is he doing_?_!" Sato murmured, leaning closer to the screen in hopes it would make the picture clearer. "Is there a way to clean up the picture Takagi-kun?"

"No, the video is too low quality," Takagi replied, squinting at Conan's unusual pose.

Yamato watched the two detectives quietly while they studied Conan's unusual posture completely ignoring the large knife poised to strike down on the child. He un-paused the video once they stopped their discussion but rolled the desk chair back so he could keep them in his sight as well. Seeing them so… calm with the kid in obvious danger was… unnerving.

On the screen, Honjou flinched and the knife skittered across the floor soundlessly. The false Matsumoto entered their view. Still playing his part, the disguised stranger spoke with Mizutani, flashing a badge that wasn't his. While he bent to lift Honjou from his slump on the floor, Conan once again pulled his arm across his chest and brought a free hand to his watch. In the oddest orchestration of movements they had seen, Matsumoto let go of Honjou leaving him to drop on the floor while simultaneously pulling his head and upper body back. At almost the same time, Mizutani collapsed in the faint he had reported in his statement. Conan's expression was aghast as he came out of his odd pose. Taking advantage of his freedom, Honjou attempted to attack 'Matsumoto' and was promptly knocked out. The video was now passing into a time frame they had no witness statements to go on, and Conan was alone with the false superintendent. They watched 'Matsumoto' answer whatever Conan had said with a disturbing very un-Matsumoto-ish grin and walk back out of camera range back the way he had come. Without hesitating, Conan followed after him and left their view. "Nothing happens on this camera after that except for the windows being blown out ten minutes later," Yamato muttered, closing the window. "You can't even see the helicopter with all the glass blowing in."

"Mizutani-san, didn't just faint, did he?" Uehara murmured softly. "It was Conan-kun that did something to him."

"He was aiming for the John Doe," Yamato muttered. "He must have known the man was a fake."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Sato frowned, staring at the folder of still unviewed files. "Takagi-kun, can you find them on a different camera? It looked like they walked towards Café La Tour."

"Hold on," he said reaching for the keyboard. He quickly sampled each file in turn trying to find the right camera angle. "Got it." The others leaned in while he advanced the video until the timestamp in the corner of the screen read a few seconds before they had stopped the previous camera.

They watched 'Matsumoto' walk on screen carrying Honjou's bag of his victim's keepsakes to a table holding the wine Mizutani had brought. Conan appeared on screen just behind him and stopped cautiously keeping the table partially between himself and the intruder. They couldn't see what 'Matsumoto' was doing with his back to them but from the shaking of his arm he must have been emptying the bag on the table. They had an excellent view of Conan speaking to the man. The two held a silent conversation while the man slipped something into his pocket.

"Was anything missing from that bag when your people logged it?" Yamato asked anxiously.

"No. Everything was accounted for," Sato murmured absently, not taking her eyes off the screen.

Yamato kept his eye on her a few extra seconds before turning back to the screen. "Guess that's another thing we need to ask this kid," he grumbled, watching the man calmly drink wine while Conan exchanged tense words with him.

Conan looked down, apparently thinking over something the man had said. And it was during that first and singular lapse in attention they had seen until now that the man closed his distance on the unguarded boy and backhanded him hard enough to send him flying through the air and tumbling across the floor off-camera. Uehara gasped loudly, her hands flying up involuntarily to cover her mouth. Sato fisted her hand onto Takagi's sleeve. "Takagi-kun." Hearing the tight, choked fury in her voice, Takagi bent forward to find the new camera angle without a word.

They watched Conan tumble into camera frame near the railings with his glasses skidding across the floor until he came to a stop face down on the unforgiving tile. 'Matsumoto' advanced on him; closing the distance with Conan trying to pick himself up on arms they could see trembling even with the fuzziness of the low-grade footage. On the next blow, Conan rolled out of the tumble running for the southeast end of the floor which they followed, one security camera after another, with 'Matsumoto' chasing after him and steadily gaining ground catching him before he had made it halfway there. They watched, silent witness to the horrible beating 'Matsumoto' gave him, blows that dropped him repeatedly to the ground. But Conan kept pushing himself back up, stubbornly trying to put enough distance between them to get fully back on his feet.

After a final grab, lifting Conan into the air, 'Matsumoto' flung him into a west side pillar where Conan sunk to the ground finally lying still; Ran and a tower employee rushed into frame. An unsuspecting Ran spoke with the fake while Conan grabbed onto her leg shakily. 'Matsumoto' took the opportunity of her distraction to knockout the employee leaving Ran blocking him from reaching the kid and his gun trained on her.

Again, they watched a silent, and from what they could tell, angry dialogue pass between a coldly furious Ran and the tall man that positively dwarfed her. Yamato and Uehara leaned close watching the teenaged girl face down the man holding a gun on her with more fearlessness than a seasoned officer. They all recognized the coiled tension that suddenly filled her stance. Takagi covered Sato's frozen grip on his arm with his free hand and they all waited for the shot.

The flash of the bullet leaving the gun and Ran's dodge happened in the blink of an eye with Ran following with a swift disarm and forward strike. They tensely watched the fight play out with Ran holding her own in the intense fight. "These Mouri kids are unbelievable," Yamato murmured watching Ran drop the larger man a second time. "Don't they know enough to be scared like normal people_?_!" The fight progressed with Ran keeping the upper hand until part of 'Matsumoto's' mask was torn away and her shock left her open to his attacks. Beaten to the ground, both Ran and the partially unmasked man reacted to something off-screen. Ran's body relaxed into unconsciousness and the man walked off-camera pulling his mask off as he went.

"That must have been when Kudo-kun showed up," Takagi said, pausing the video. "Conan-kun's already escaped." The other three sat in silence considering what they had just watched. For Uehara and Yamato, they had to watch two kids, one of them so very young, fight for their lives not twenty meters from where they themselves were lying, unable to save them.

"Poor Conan-kun," Sato finally whispered. "So that's what Ran-chan meant when she said he had been hurt more then she had," she mused thinking back to the brutal beating the imposter had given the child until Ran had intervened.

"I think I need a break from looking at this crap," Yamato sighed, minimizing the videos.

"I'll make us something to drink" Uehara said, disappearing into the kitchen subtly wiping away tears of sympathy from her eyes.

"Takagi-kun."

Takagi locked eyes with Sato and gave her a nod. "I'll be right back," he said to the now somber detectives in the room. Leaving the depressed atmosphere of his apartment behind, he drove to the Mouri's detective agency for one more try at interviewing and prying information out of the boy.

/

Takagi stood at the foot of the stairs to the agency staring up into the shadowy hallway heavily tempted to go back to his pacing. Now that he was actually here he had no idea what to say to the child he had just watched be cruelly beaten. He had already spent the last forty minutes or so in Café Poirot trying to figure out what he was going to say… and he still had no idea. Having stalled as long as he could already in the café after three cups of coffee, he had phoned an excuse to Mouri for needing to come by, and wasted yet more time until well after the sun had set milling about in the first floor restaurant. No matter how he looked at it, even though he and Sato had been across town in Beika Park and the other detectives unconscious, they had still left Ran and Conan defenseless and alone at the tower and he couldn't help feeling responsible for that.

Finally fed up with the stares he was getting from people in the café, he started up the stairs and balanced the extra coffee he had bought Kogoro in one hand to let himself into the agency. He came to a surprised stop seeing a wide-eyed pajama-clad Conan staring at him in a mix of shock and dismay from a bundle of blankets on the couch. He swallowed hard, reaffirming his purpose to get answers from the kid who finally had nowhere left to run this time.

"Takagi-kun, you're looking better," Kogoro said looking up from the newspapers he had spread over his desk.

"Eh?" Takagi dropped his stare-off with Conan guiltily trying to figure out what Kogoro was talking about.

"You're leg," the older man muttered, looking at Takagi with sharp suspicion. "I heard you twisted an ankle."

Takagi followed Kogoro's look down to his limp free, bandage absent legs. "Oh, th-that," he replied nervously. "I… um, I mean… Yes, I twisted it and it's doing a lot better," he answered sheepishly handing the man the coffee peace offering he had brought.

Kogoro rolled his eyes at him skeptically. "You wouldn't have made up that injury to ditch work, would you?" he asked. From the couch, Conan was over his surprise and giving him a sage skeptical look of his own. Takagi prayed he kept quiet about the time he had called in sick to look for his lost notebook several months ago. "Can't say I haven't done it a time or two. What happened, fall behind on your reports?" Kogoro continued.

"R-really now, Mouri-san," Takagi stuttered in guilty embarrassment, "Why would I make up an injury?" He purposely refused to look down at Conan's knowing eyes facing down the skeptical frown Kogoro was giving him instead.

"Takagi-keiji is a bad liar," Conan piped up from behind him in a testy voice. He turned around and glared at the boy, his pity from the videos he had just seen momentarily forgotten while he exchanged glares with the grumpy kid.

"In any case, I put together what you asked for," Kogoro muttered, searching through his desk drawers. "Are you sure all you need are my notes from the mahjong case?" Conan's glare shifted to suspicion at mention of the currently forbidden case. "Aren't you turning in your report a little late?"

Takagi sat down stiffly on the client couch opposite Conan keeping a cautious eye on the only person in the room who could easily blow his excuse to see them with one mention of the case's classified status. "I know," he said carefully, lying clear off in front of Conan. "Things just piled up and I really don't want Megure-keibu or Sato-san to find out."

"Thought you were past these rookie mistakes," Kogoro muttered giving up on his drawers. "Must've left it upstairs somewhere." He heaved himself up from the desk with an irritated huff. "**You don't move!**" he ordered with an angry glare that had Takagi flinching and obeying sheepishly until he realized the man was yelling at Conan. Across from him, Conan glared back in the defiant way of those unjustly tortured by strange and unusual punishment. Takagi wisely kept quiet in the face of what was obviously a fight that had been in progress long before he got there.

Conan glared after Kogoro until the older man slammed the door shut. He waited until they both clearly heard the man stomp upstairs before dropping his glare for an exhausted defeated stare at the detective. "Why are you really here, Takagi-keiji?" Conan sighed, settling himself deeper in his blankets.

"You could tell?" he asked. He couldn't help but let his eyes drift to the fading bruise under Conan's left eye, which he now knew the source of. His eyes widened when he noticed the series of yellowed marks down the side of his neck. He started slightly realizing he couldn't place any point in the footage where Conan had been grabbed by the neck.

"Like I said, you're a bad liar," Conan replied evenly not noticing where Takagi was staring. "And you can't write a report for a case that's already been classified."

Takagi dragged his eyes away from the mystery bruises on Conan's neck to look closely at the tired boy who currently looked like any other normal sick child. Nothing like someone who had been at the center of one of the most violent attacks the city had seen in years. "I have so many questions I don't even know where to start," he found himself saying. He couldn't seem to keep his eyes from straying back to the marks on Conan's neck.

"You only have until Kogoro-jisan comes back," Conan reminded him in a dull tired voice.

"You're not even going to try denying it, are you?" Takagi asked tensely, "That you _do_ know something." Conan just stared back with knowing eyes that said, '_you already _know_ I do._' Takagi tensed hearing Kogoro's steps echoing in the empty hallway.

"You're almost out of time," Conan said softly with a stony expression.

"Fine," Takagi said giving the door a quick look. "Sato-san and I are working on our investigation from my apartment, will you come?"

Conan stared at him in surprise at his honest plea for help. Conan finally gave him a slow nod and Takagi let out a sigh of relief that the boy was no longer looking at him with fear or suspicion as he had for the last few days.

Behind him, Kogoro swept back into the office trying to keep the mess of papers from slipping out of the thick folder he carried. "Ah, thank you Mouri-san," Takagi said quickly taking the folder from the man and grabbing his coffee from the low table in front of Conan.

"You're leaving already?" Kogoro asked in surprise.

"Ah, yes. I have to go in early tomorrow," Takagi replied, making his way closer to the door. "Megure-keibu called in several detectives for a special assignment. We're going to be assisting Nakamori-keibu with a special Kaitou Kid case. He's pulling a heist downtown tomorrow morning," he told them quietly.

"What_?_! There's a Kid heist tomorrow_?_!" Conan exclaimed in disbelief from his spot on the couch.

Takagi frowned, taking in the disbelief and outrage in the boy's face. "I'm sorry Conan-kun. I know you're used to going to Kid heists but Megure-keibu said only people on a list he and Nakamori-keibu approved will be allowed to be there." He watched Conan ball his fists tightly into the blanket and his illness-paled skin redden in anger. The effect made the bruises on his neck color oddly and stand out sharper in contrast.

"Isn't that a little unusual?" Kogoro asked him breaking him from his quiet study of the child. "They've never done that for one of that thief's heists before; are you sure it's really a Kid heist?"

"I'm really not supposed to talk about it," Takagi replied with a polite smile. "I really need to go. Thank you Mouri-san." He gave one last look to the boy lost in his own thoughts and closed the door. Just to be sure, he ran through the attack between Conan and the fake Matsumoto in his mind on his way to his car. He couldn't remember a single time one of the man's blows had been anywhere near Conan's neck and the line of faint yellow marks could only have come from an adult closing his hand over the child's neck. He stamped his foot on the gas and raced back to his apartment.

/

The others looked up from their quiet musings sitting around Takagi's couch when he burst through his apartment door and sat himself at the computer they had been trying to ignore since he had left to confront Conan. "Takagi-kun? What's wrong?" Sato asked in alarm watching Takagi pull up all the video windows they had minimized and move through the last video of the man leaving Ran to go after Kudo they had stopped on, ignoring them completely in his single-minded search of whatever had possessed him. Takagi searched back through the video to the last shot of Conan lifting himself from his crumple at the base of the pillar.

"We were wrong," Takagi finally said setting the film to a slow 2x speed, watching Conan cry out in protest when Ran was punched.

Sato walked up behind him keeping her eyes on the back of his neck rather than watch the fight again on the screen. "Wrong about what?" she asked, hearing the other two detectives draw up slowly behind her from the soft thumps of Yamato's crutch.

"Wrong about Conan-kun getting away safely after Kudo-kun showed up," Takagi muttered distractedly watching Conan give Ran a last look and pushing himself off the ground to run for the shadows. "He didn't go downstairs while this guy chased Kudo-kun, he went up." He paused in his watching to look back at her. "I think Conan-kun was attacked a second time."

He pulled up file after file until he found the security camera files that followed Conan's flight into the employee hallways behind the café with their unmasked John Doe following behind him. They lost sight of whatever took place in the narrow hallway which had no camera but found a camera in the southeast side of the floor facing the hallway entrance. Conan stood flush against the wall outside the hallway with a hand on his belt. From the darkness of the hallway, four flashes lit the shadows that the detectives easily recognized as shots fired. Conan rushed into the hallway and they lost sight of him except for a partial view of his back.

Takagi jumped at the sudden flash in the hallway that sent Conan tumbling back out of the hallway clutching his stomach in a low crouch while Yamato cursed behind him and Uehara gasped loudly. Sato sank her nails into his shoulders, gripping him tightly from her position directly behind him. They all sighed in relief when Conan yanked off his broken belt and tossed it aside, gathering his feet under himself. A second flash lit the hallway and the slight angle of the camera caught the light spray of material from Conan's right shoe. They watched him fire more shots after the boy, herding him up the stairs to the second floor of the Main Observatory and out the door to the exterior stairs to the Special Observatory. With a low sound of frustration, Takagi set about searching for an exterior camera, intent on finding the shot that had captured how Conan had received the sallow bruises on his neck.

"I don't understand," Sato murmured in shock behind him. "Ran-chan told me. Conan-kun got away. Kudo-kun had baited that lowlife into chasing him." She covered her mouth with a hand that had been shaking ever since Conan had taken that first shot in the stomach.

"Then either Ran-san heard wrong, or she lied to us," Yamato finally said staring at the frozen video.

"No… no, Ran-chan would never lie to us," Sato defended.

"Even if this Kudo-person asked her to?" Yamato argued back. "He is her boyfriend, or so I've heard. And the Tokyo police seem to follow along in this kid's requests to omit his involvement in their reports. I don't see how different that is from asking his girlfriend to change a few facts."

"Aren't you two missing what's important here," Takagi finally spoke up from between the two arguing detectives. Their heated glares were lost on him as he bent closer to the screen, intent on finding a camera that would give them the next part of the story. "Whether or not Kudo-kun was involved, it's obvious the one our John Doe followed outside where he was killed…was Conan-kun." Sato and Yamato quieted taking in the full meaning behind his words.

"Conan-kun… has these bruises… up the side of his neck… finger imprints," Takagi continued, fiercely clicking on file after file. The other detectives stilled behind him, listening quietly. "They're so light, I never would have seen them if he wasn't so pale from being sick this week." He sighed in relief finally finding a camera view from a corner of the outside landing.

"Someone choked him?" Uehara asked softly. Takagi looked away from the screen long enough to nod to her cautiously.

He advanced the video until he finally caught up with Conan running across the metal landing and scrambling up the stairs with the John Doe following after at a much more sedate, leisurely pace, firing off a few rounds after the boy. He followed after Conan, lazily climbing the stairs.

They all jumped when Conan came racing back down the stairs and launched himself feet first at the man's middle knocking them both back down the stairs. Conan landed in a tight crouch and picked up the gun, aiming it with a practiced hand's grip at the man. Conan said something, which the man must have been in the middle of answering when the screen flickered violently.

"What's happening?" Yamato muttered as the footage smoothed back out but with a slightly fuzzier view and a chronic rhythmic flicker.

"This must have been when the power was shut off," Takagi answered. "The cameras are working on emergency power now."

Partially in the shadow of the electrical box next to him, they could barely make out Conan in the dim glow of the city's lights. The scene was suddenly illuminated by the searchlight of the helicopter making its appearance off-screen. Conan used an arm to shield himself from the bright light and the John Doe launched himself, blocking their view, at Conan knocking him back against the stairs. His broad back obscured part of their view but the position of his arms gave away his tight hold on Conan, pressing him down by the neck into the stairs and his left hand holding the gun to Conan's forehead. The detectives watched on in stunned silence.

The man finally let go and stood to answer his phone. Past his legs, they could just make out Conan sitting up and holding his neck, no longer making any attempt at escaping. The man faced directly into the helicopter's light speaking into his phone. "I guess we have our proof that he was working for whoever owns that helicopter," Yamato growled, sufficiently recovered from his earlier shock.

It was difficult to see from their angle, but he used his far side hand to tuck his gun into his back waistband and pulled something from a pocket, holding it out to the helicopter. Twice he held whatever it was out further and even with the foreknowledge of what was likely coming they all flinched when the shot came, the camera catching the full profile view of the blood spray from the high velocity bullet… and Conan's shocked face. They watched Conan crouch near the fallen man's shoulders, speaking to him and attempting to pull him further behind the electrical unit shielding them from the helicopter. The light from the helicopter shifted from the southeast side of the tower to the southwest illuminating the two. They watched the man pull Conan's head down and shield the boy with his body when the final shot came, killing him. Moments later, the helicopter opened fire with its 50-calliber gun strafing the southeast side of the building. They watched Conan hide behind the electrical unit, which after taking a few hits, the camera promptly went black.

They stayed frozen, gathered around the computer, Yamato and Uehara horrified at the violence the seven-year-old had been witness to. Takagi laced his fingers and rested his chin on his hands staring at the black video window.

"I can't believe the one the helicopter was chasing was Conan-kun," Sato murmured. "Why didn't he tell us? Whoever was flying that helicopter obviously survived. He should have told us. We need to put him in protective custody!" she exclaimed.

"No. We don't," Takagi mused softly, coming to a realization. The others stared at him oddly. "Kudo-kun is the one the John Doe chased," he said firmly, turning to look at them. "We're the only ones who know the truth. Even the sealed records Megure-keibu was asked to disclose name Kudo-kun as the one chased by the helicopter. Until we find out from Conan-kun or hear from Kudo-kun what's really going on, Kudo-kun is the one who was there, like Ran-san told us."

Silently, the other three nodded in agreement. "Okay," Yamato replied quietly, Uehara nodding her agreement.

In a sudden fit of paranoia, Takagi reached behind his computer and yanked out his internet's Ethernet cable.

_~fin~_

/

/

AN:

Slaving a laptop. It can be done and I tried to be accurate. Removing a laptop's hard drive and turning it into an external hard drive is an effective way to bypass a laptop's login. The drive will simply open like any external. The piece Takagi has Sato untangle is a laptop hard drive adaptor and is used to connect the drive you removed from the laptop to the external casing's interior port. (And for anyone else as anal as me, it looks like Irish's laptop is a Toshiba.)

I'd like to thank the Tokyo Tower official website for providing me lovely floor plans of the Main Observatory and lots of great pictures and video of the tower interior. It was such a great help for this chapter.

Foot Town is the four-story building at the base of Tokyo Tower housing museums, an aquarium, restaurants, souvenir shops, and express elevators up to the Main Observatory of Tokyo Tower if you don't want to take the stairs from the fourth floor's roof. It's the place Ran enters from and where Conan left his skateboard in the custody of one of the tower's employees.

I made up a name, (kinda) a first name for Chiba since he currently has none for the purpose of this story. I gave him the first name Isshun. But I chose that name for a reason. Chiba is voiced by a man named Chiba, Isshun. And since the character of Takagi, Wataru is voiced by a man named Takagi, Wataru, I'm hoping Aoyama will follow the trend and make Isshun his official first name too.

Eps Referenced: 2 Company President's Daughter Kidnapping Case, 18 June Bride Murder Case, 205-206 Metropolitan Police Detective Love Story 3 pt1-2, 276 Case of the Missing Policeman's Notebook, 358-359 Metropolitan Police Detective Love Story 5 pt1-2, 390-391 Metropolitan Police Detective Love Story 6 pt1-2, 405 The Man Who Went to Call for an Ambulance.

/

/

/

Day 1

* * *

To: Base #xxx

From: Agent xxxxxxxx

Time: 1200 hrs

Summary: Replacement of hardcopy 90 percent complete. Completion pending last of paperwork in circulation.

In response to requested information:

Unable to identify person(s) who released Hostage Prime at this time.

Unable to identify person(s) who attacked during mission #xxx at this time.

End of Report.

* * *

/

/

* * *

To: Base #xxx

From: Recruit xxxxxxxx

Time: 1700

In response to recent bulletin request for the identities of person(s) responsible for the release of Hostage Prime, I disclose the identities of:

Sato, Miwako. Rank Detective. Division One, Team One. Address: Minato-ku, Haido-cho, x-x-chome Vehicle: Red Mazda RX7 Plate No. - 9-01

Takagi, Wataru. Rank Detective. Division One, Team One. Address: Minato-ku, Beika-cho, x-x chome. Vehicle: Silver Nissan Skyline Plate No. - 7-25

End of Report.

* * *

/

/

Day 2

* * *

To: Recruit xxxxxxxx

From: Base #xxx

Time: 0800

Report Received.

Summary: As before, your fee has been deposited in your account. The organization appreciates your continued help and information as with your help in the acquisition of Hostage Prime. A promotion in rank is being considered.

Request: A compiled list and assessment of secondary targets with identification of relation. Include risk of fallout if target is eliminated and your assessment on whether elimination is recommended for secondary target.

End of Report.

* * *

/

/

Day 4

* * *

(Phone Text)

From: xxxxxxxx (xxxx-xxx-xxxx)

Time: 5:27am

Type: Text Message

Just left meeting. Megure-keibu & Nakamori-keibu tipped off on building downtown, possible reference to an Organization building by Kid. Bust planned. Tomorrow 0600.

(End Message)

* * *

/

/

* * *

To: Agent xxxxxxxx

From: Base #xxx

Time: 0530

Summary: You are no longer needed for the purpose of identifying person(s) who released Hostage Prime. Person(s) successfully identified. Consider request to identity person(s) who attacked bird suspended pending acquisition of sealed police reports from Beika PD.

New orders are as follows: Report to Base #xxx immediately. Assume command of transfer of local data to server delta. Oversee termination of base before deadline of 0600 tomorrow morning. Then report to Agent xxx for upcoming mission.

End of Report.

* * *

/

/

* * *

To: Base #xxx

From: Recruit xxxxxxxx

Time: 1700

Secondary List follows:

Sato, Miwako

_Family:_

Sato, xxx. Relation: Mother. Address: Minato-ku, Haido-cho, x-x-x. Elimination: Highly Recommended. Risk of Fallout: Low.

_Coworkers:_

Miyamoto, Yumi – Officer. Relation: Coworker, Friend. Address: Minato-ku, Beika-cho, x-x-x. Elimination: Not Recommended. Risk of Fallout: High.

Shiratori, Ninzaburou – Inspector. Relation: Coworker. Address: Minato-ku, Haido-cho, x-x-x. Elimination: Recommended. Risk of Fallout: High.

Megure, Juuzou – Inspector. Relation: Superior Officer. Address: Minato-ku, Beika-cho, x-x-x. Elimination: Recommended. Risk of Fallout: High. Complication of spouse.

-Megure, Midori. Relation: Spouse. Address: (same) Elimination: Recommended. Risk of Fallout: Low

Takagi, Wataru

_Family:_

Takagi, xxxxxx. Relation: Mother. Address: Chiba-ken, Narita-shi, x-x-x. Elimination: Highly Recommended. Risk of Fallout: Low.

Mouri, Kogoro aka "Sleeping Kogoro" – Private Detective. Relation: Friend. Address: Minato-ku, Beika-cho, 39th St 5-5 chome. Elimination: Highly Recommended. Risk of Fallout: Medium. Complication of two children and spouse.

-Kisaki, Eri – District Attorney. Relation: Spouse. Address: Minato-ku, Haido-cho, x-x-x. Elimination: Highly Recommended. Risk of Fallout: Medium.

-Kogoro, Ran. Relation: Daughter. Address: Minato-ku, Beika-cho, 39th St 5-5 chome. Elimination: Highly Recommended. Risk of Fallout: Low.

-Edogawa, Conan. Relation: Ward. Address: Minato-ku, Beika-cho, 39th St 5-5 chome. Elimination: Highly Recommended. Risk of Fallout: Low.

_Coworkers:_

Chiba, Isshun – Detective. Relation: Coworker, Friend. Address: Minato-ku, Beika-cho, x-x-x. Elimination: Not Recommended. Risk of Fallout: High.

Shiratori, Ninzaburou – Inspector. Relation: Coworker. Address: Minato-ku, Haido-cho, x-x-x. Elimination: Recommended. Risk of Fallout: High.

Megure, Juuzou – Inspector. Relation: Superior Officer. Address: Minato-ku, Beika-cho, x-x-x. Elimination: Recommended. Risk of Fallout: High. Complication of spouse.

-Megure, Midori. Relation: Spouse. Address: (same) Elimination: Recommended. Risk of Fallout: Low

End of Report.

* * *

/

/

/


	8. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: not mine. Movie-verse & Anime-verse.

/

/

**Chapter 5**

/

Kaito struggled against a strong headwind to control his glider one-handed, his other hand occupied with holding Conan's dead weight tight against his chest. For the first time since he began his alter ego second life, he flew unerringly straight for home without a second thought to who might be watching.

He landed hard in his backyard and barely spared the time to activate his glider's disengage system running against the drag while it refolded at his back. He paused just inside the sliding door entrance to his living room to shed the glider system and his overcoat and hat to the floor while flash bombs and smoke bombs rolled out of pockets across the floor leaving ashy trails over the carpet unnoticed.

"Damn it! Damn it! Don't do this Kudo!" he muttered dropping to his knees in front of the couch gingerly setting the unconscious boy down and gently trying to unfold him from his tight curl. He managed to pull and tug Conan into a semi-stretched out pose but couldn't do anything about the death grip Conan had on his balled up jacket. He ripped his gloves off, tossing them away with frustrated nervous energy and held a shaking finger under Conan's nose, holding his breath while he checked for a sign that the detective was still breathing.

He bit his lip at the feeble, broken exhalations crossing his finger. "Shit! Don't you dare Kudo!" Kaito cursed, springing up from the carpet and racing to the grand painting of his father in the entryway. He burst into the hidden workroom running to the oxygen tank and tubing Jii had brought him after his earlier attempts at making his own smoke bombs had been… less than worthy.

He dragged the heavy tank to the entrance stairs and heaved it up to the living room and Conan's side. He hurriedly slipped the non-rebreathing mask over the boy's face, adjusting the straps with shaking fingers, and twisted the tank's valve, perching over Conan until he saw the condensation misting on the plastic breathing piece of Conan's slightly stronger exhalations.

Pausing to take a breath of his own, he ran still shaking fingers through Conan's hair, dropping ash and building debris to the couch cushions taking in the boy's visible injuries for the first time. He was bleeding from any multitude of open abrasions on his hands and forehead, disappearing into his hairline. Any skin that wasn't covered by his dirty pajamas was dotted with already peeling blisters of first and near second-degree burns. The only sign of life in the small body was the mist on the mouthpiece of the tubing feeding him pure oxygen.

Gently, he removed Conan's watch and set it on the end table, trying his best to inspect his visible skin for injuries. Every inch of him was coated in a fine brown dust from the building's ceiling material and his glasses had been lost somewhere amidst the debris of the burning building. It was the first time Kaito had ever truly seen the shrunken detective without the feeble disguise. At the moment, it just made the detective look smaller.

"Just hold on, Kudo," Kaito whispered, "I'll fix this. I promise." He pushed himself up from the floor and rushed back to the workroom.

* * *

Hakuba rubbed his arms for warmth in the early morning air. The sky was still dark and he was several hours too early for school. In the past two weeks, Kuroba had only been to school a single full day. Every other day he had only stayed for a period or two and vanished out from under his watch without effort or simply hadn't come at all. He had been getting up earlier and earlier the last couple of days trying to catch Kuroba leaving and this time he had forced himself awake three hours early. Leaving his Baaya a quick note that he was leaving for school early, he had rushed to Kuroba's neighborhood determined to follow wherever Kuroba had been running off to all week. He paused at the edge of Kuroba's neighbor's yard behind a tree and studied his quarry's home.

Downstairs, all the lights were on and every now and then he could see a shadowy silhouette passing back and forth. Quietly, he crept forward up to the windows, trying to catch a glimpse of Kuroba. With interior walls blocking his view, he moved to a different window trying to catch sight of what had his classmate so active in the morning twilight.

The front windows showed him nothing and he followed the edge of the house trying to find a window that would let him see what was going on. Slowly but surely, he worked himself around to the back of the house. Chancing being seen, he peeked through the wide sliding doors into the brightly lit interior.

Kuroba was nowhere to be seen, but he _did_ notice the out of place mess around the couch. Stacks of books, several brightly colored tackle boxes, an old-fashioned black leather bag… and an oxygen tank? Completely forgetting about being seen, Hakuba pressed against the sliding door moving back and forth trying to find an angle that let him see the front side of the couch. It was while jockeying for a better view, leaning on the glass with his hands while on tiptoe, that the definitely _unlocked_ door shifted open a fraction nearly sending him to the ground overbalanced.

Hakuba stared at the two inches of open door and debated his choices. He reached out and slid the door open taking a cautious look around the Kuroba living room from his safe and _lawful_ side of the doorframe. His nose crinkled before he had time to actually focus on _seeing_ anything. Kuroba's house smelled strongly of smoke. He actually looked back and above the house to see if any smoke could be seen rising from the split-level house's roof.

Convinced the house was indeed _not_ on fire, he leaned in the room and took a careful look around. On the floor, there was a large misshapen heap of fabric that was probably white at some point in time. He frowned at the oddly blackened silver balls spilt on the ground around the pile. His fingers gripping the doorframe tightened at the surge of adrenalin that shot through his body. All he had to do was check the pile on the floor not four feet away, and he would have his proof of Kuroba's guilt. Just a few seconds from verifying what he _knew_ was true, and yet he was frozen, hesitating in the doorway. '_Just check. All you have to do is check and it's over,_' he thought to himself staring at the balls that looked suspiciously like the smoke bombs Kid was so fond of yet he still couldn't force himself to enter the house.

He pushed away from the doorframe, facing the opposite direction in a huff, leaning against the open entrance. He shut his eyes and gave them a good rub against the irritation the smoke was causing. As long as he didn't actually _confirm_ what the mess of fabric really was, he couldn't _really_ say Kuroba was the Phantom Thief. With a frustrated 'hmph,' he resolved to give the prankster a thorough chewing out as soon as he made an appearance.

Looking out into the living room, his gaze fell to the couch, finally able to see the front… and its occupant, for the first time. His mouth fell open in shock looking down at the injured unconscious child.

"Conan-kun!" He rushed into the room to the child's side without a second thought. Leaving the oxygen mask in place, he tried to pull Conan's hand away from the balled up coat he was holding to take his pulse. Failing that, he settled for finding a pulse on the side of Conan's neck. It was weak and thready, and his fingers came away covered with a grimy mix of ash and dust. He gave a quick searching glance around the room for Kuroba. Convinced he was safely alone, he wedged his arms under the boy to lift him. Even unconscious, Conan let out a pained cry of protest and Hakuba froze in his attempt to lift him, pulling his arms back out carefully from under the boy. He knelt, stumped at what to do next, searching around the room for something to give him an idea of what to do next. His eyes settled on the vintage antique 1950s telephone on an end table next to the entrance to the kitchen. Giving Conan a last look, he made his way around the mess ringing the couch and lifted the receiver.

The phone was an old fashioned rotary, and he winced at the noise the dialing mechanism made in the dead stillness of the room. He was dialing the final number of 110 when two sharp thwicks sounded next to him as two blurs sliced through the air. He looked down to see the two cards still vibrating where they had embedded themselves in the wall, the curly cord of the receiver swinging loosely where it was cut and hanging inches below his chin. He stared at the cut line for a moment, debating whether he should look and knowing that he now no longer had a choice. He finally looked up in the direction the cards had flown from.

Kuroba was standing, still pointing his card gun at him amid wide terror-stricken eyes and heaving breaths, half in and half out of a large hole in the wall where a massive portrait stood. He was still wearing the white pants and blue dress shirt and tie that Hakuba knew well to be Kid's though now blackened and sooty like Conan. A small stack of what looked like medical texts lay in a tumbled pile at his feet. Hakuba froze, his hand clenching around the useless phone receiver, taking notice that Kuroba now had the card gun, Kid's card gun, aimed squarely at him.

"Who did you call?" Kaito demanded in a fierce voice at odds with the desperate terror on his face.

Hakuba swallowed carefully and slowly placed the useless receiver back in its cradle. "What have you done to Co…"

"**WHO DID YOU CALL?**" Kaito repeated, desperation creeping into his voice.

Hakuba snapped his mouth shut, staring wide-eyed at the disheveled thief?… …yes, thief, he was forced to finally admit, in a state he'd never seen him in. "I was calling an ambulance," he ground out tensely, "Conan-kun OBVIOUSLY needs one!" He couldn't quite keep his voice from rising in frustration.

Kaito felt his voice hitch in his throat and struggled to keep his terror bottled down. He smoothly stepped into the room letting the picture close behind him. He let his eyes drop to the couch side end table for an instant and looked back up to Hakuba still frozen against the wall. Slowly he made his way closer to the blonde detective. "Did the line connect?" he asked, edging closer and making sure his gun hand stayed trained on the blonde.

"No. It didn't," Hakuba muttered, "You made sure of that." He backed up a step closer to the open sliding door. "What the hell do you think you're _doing_ Kuroba?"

Having made it to the end table, he unobtrusively palmed Conan's watch. "Did you tell anyone he's here?" he asked almost calmly, thumbing open the watch face.

"Well I didn't really have time now, did I?" Hakuba sniped back crossly. He was beginning to lose what little temper he had left. Across the room, Kuroba moved away from the furniture and directly in front of him. He was desperately beginning to wish he had his side arm with him.

"…good," Kaito said softly, almost smiling in relief and chancing a look at the unconscious boy. "…and Hakuba… I'm sorry about this."

"About wha…" Hakuba started when he felt the sharp prick at his neck, his hand automatically slapping at the contact point. His hand encountered nothing but his own skin and he glanced in confusion at Kuroba only to find his vision graying out under a veil of darkness and the stomach vaulting sensation of falling.

* * *

Hakuba woke with a pained groan and drew an arm over his eyes blocking out the bright lights of the ceiling fan directly over him and scrunched his eyes shut again. He had woken with a throbbing headache and the bright light was disorienting. He blinked several times focusing on his view of the ceiling until recent events caught up with him.

He started awake, instantly filled with hyper awareness taking in the room from his odd position. He was lying on his back on the floor of Kuro… Kid's living room at the foot of the couch with Kuroba sitting above him, from his current perspective, on the floor in front of the injured boy. He turned his head to the side and silently observed his classmate who was facing away from him. Hakuba gave a quick roll to draw himself up in a sitting position to get away while Kuroba wasn't paying attention to him… or that's what he would have liked to do. In reality, the moment he tried to pull away, his left hand jerked him back down to the carpet with a painful cold line of pressure on his wrist. Frantically, he looked up at his hand, eyes widening, recognizing his own handcuffs locking him in place to a metal support bar under the couch. He shifted his wild gaze to Kuroba who most certainly knew he was awake _now_ that his abortive attempt at escape had shifted the couch he was attached to by several inches.

Above him, Kaito sent a tired glare his way. "Don't move the couch!" he ordered. He looked away from his prisoner and returned his attention to the stiff thread his latex gloved hands were manipulating, glancing every so often to a thick text book he had propped up with throw pillows next to Conan's head.

Assured that whatever Kuroba was doing kept him too preoccupied to deal with him, Hakuba cautiously gathered himself into a sitting position keeping as much distance between himself and the thief as he could. Kuroba seemed set on ignoring him, bent over Conan, leaving him free to take a good look around.

The sliding glass door he had come through was closed and locked; the school satchel he had dropped outside was leaning against the wall on the floor by the door out of reach. Every shade and curtain was drawn making the room feel even more like a cage. He finally glanced at the couch and what Kuroba was doing.

Kuroba had shed the dirty blue dress shirt lying on the floor a few feet away and was now wearing a long-sleeved tee shirt with rubber gloves pulled over the tail ends of the sleeves and kept in place with rubber bands. The black soot was washed away from his face and his hair was pulled back away from his face, hidden under a surgical net. Medical books littered the floor around the couch and the tackle boxes he had seen earlier were open and full of medical supplies. He stared blankly watching Kuroba stitch closed a bleeding gash on Conan's forehead at his hairline.

"You can stitch wounds?" he asked blankly watching the thief work.

"No," Kaito answered curtly, glancing back at the book's diagram to check his next move in the stitch pattern. "I'm usually on his side of this." He paused in his work to wipe away the blood obscuring his view with an iodine pad.

"How badly is he hurt?" Hakuba asked looking around at the soot and blood stained towels littering the floor that had been used to clean Conan's face and wounds.

"I don't know," Kaito answered returning to his stitching. "I've only just started with this one because I couldn't get it to stop bleeding."

Hakuba watched him work painstakingly slow, constantly checking his work or stopping to wipe away blood. "If you're so worried about him, take him to a hospital," he finally said. "I thought your rule was no one gets hurt."

"That's exactly why I **can't** take him," Kaito muttered, tying off the final stitch. He looked away from his work long enough to glance at the time on the kitchen clock and turn on the television behind him. He switched the channel to the Nichiuri TV six o'clock morning news.

'…_The fire at this securities firm continues to burn uncontrolled and has spread to the surrounding buildings. Fire Chief Itoh has been unable to confirm if any fatalitie…"_

Hakuba watched the circling helicopter pans of the burning building with a growing frown. "You not only dragged him into one of your escapades now you've made him an arsonist too_?_!" he exclaimed in outrage. "I know you can be reckless but just how low do you plan to sink!"

"I didn't start that fire!" Kaito yelled back, ringing out a fresh towel from the bowl of clean water at his side and making another attempt to wash the soot and blood away out of Conan's hair so he could search for injuries. "Don't blame things on me when you have no idea what's really going on."

"So the building spontaneously caught fire while you were teaching him how to break in?" Hakuba sniped sarcastically, giving his hand an experimental tug.

Kaito stopped his work long enough to glare at him balefully. "That building was going to be part of a police raid today," he ground out, his hands clenching the towel in his hands spasmodically. "Those bastards in there were the ones that caused the Touto Tower Disaster." Hakuba stopped fussing with his handcuffs to stare at him.

"That could have been Nakamori and the task force caught in there," Kaito continued softly. "I was just trying to help. I just wanted this to be over." Hakuba opened his mouth to ask the question of what Kuroba had wanted over but stopped taking in the lost expression on his face. Kaito bit his lip and closed his watery eyes sending his questing fingers into Conan's hair checking for injuries by feel. He opened his eyes again feeling the large welt on the back of the boy's head. His fingers came back darkly bloody from the injury that had already begun to clot. Angrily, he yanked the stained gloves off and pulled on a new pair from the box in one of his tackle boxes.

"This is my fault," Kaito whispered, feeling the enormity of playing doctor overwhelm him for a moment looking down at the rest of Conan's prone body that could be hiding any multitude of internal injuries that would render his last ten minutes of stitching a cut completely moot. "He could be dying _right now_ from something I can't see and it's all my fault," he choked out, on the verge of coming undone. "He tried to warn me. These guys are too big, too dangerous for me to act against them without him. And he warned me not to act alone, he _warned_ me. And I didn't listen. …I… I don't know what to do," he finished quietly.

"If you think he was hurt that badly then **take him to a HOSPITAL**!" Hakuba yelled.

"**I CAN'T!**" Kaito yelled back. The two faced off with angry glares until they both took several calming breaths.

"Why not?" Hakuba managed to ask in a mostly civil tone.

"If Sleeping Kogoro's assistant is taken to the hospital with burn injuries right now, _they'll_ know where he was this morning. That 'Gin' guy will come after him for sure. He won't last the night. And everyone he knows will be next," Kaito ground out looking over his shoulder to the news report still reporting live from the fire site.

"You're being paranoid. These criminals or whoever you're worrying about have better things to do than spend their day reading hospital registries," Hakuba argued.

"Oh, if he were awake right now, he'd say I'm not being paranoid enough," Kaito muttered digging through an assortment of different sized bandages. "He was right. He's _always_ right; I should have realized that. I've been completely outmaneuvered. We had them, two of the people involved in the attack right in front of us. But because I was impatient, they've gone underground again. I should have stayed away from these freaks like he warned me to."

"_Who_ warned you?" Hakuba asked softly.

"Ku-Conan-kun!"

"_He_ knows who attacked the tower_?_!" Hakuba exclaimed. "He can identify them_?_!"

"He should, this is _his_ investigation." Kaito returned to patching up Conan, wrapping gauze around his head, "I'm the one who begged my way in." He kept quiet letting Hakuba absorb the new information. He didn't need to look to know that suspicion was written all over the detective's face.

"Was it this Black Org. people the two of you spoke about?" Hakuba finally asked.

Kaito looked up at him sharply with wide eyes, a hand gripping the roll of gauze he held tightly. "I completely forgot. You know about them, huh?"

"Hardly," Hakuba muttered with an ungentlemanly snort. "The first time I brought it up with Conan-kun, he tried to get himself killed in traffic."

Kaito raised an eyebrow in curiosity. He studied the unconscious boy, trying to figure out how to remove his death grip on his coat without hurting him. He paused, Hakuba's words catching up with him. "Wait… traffic_?_! **You asked him someplace public**_**?**_**!**" He reached out and grabbed Hakuba by the front of his gakuran and pulled him close, not particularly caring that he was putting Hakuba's chained arm in an awkward position. "Don't ever **ever** say that name in public!" he ordered giving Hakuba a few well-placed shakes.

"I don't take orders from **you**… Kaitou Kid!" Hakuba shot back angrily. Kaito let go roughly the moment the alias left Hakuba's lips. "What's wrong with you two_?_! First him, and now you. I'd appreciate it if one of you would give me a clear answer for once!"

Kaito looked away from Hakuba's angry accusing gaze and stared at Conan, his eyes focusing on the small burned hands protecting the coat. "If I answer you, you'll be in as much danger as the two of us," he said quietly. "These people are dangerous."

"I'll be sure to keep my revolver under my pillow," Hakuba ground out between clenched teeth. "Talk. You owe me that much at least."

Kaito looked over at him, sitting with his back against the couch staring at the far wall of his living room with a melancholic expression. He gave a depressed sigh of his own; the accusation-denial dance of theirs that had come to border on friendly banter of the last year and half most definitely over. "Most of what I know, tantei-kun here told me only a few days ago," he started, redirecting his attention to soaking a few rolls worth of bandage gauze in water in preparation of wrapping Conan's burns. "But _I_ first met them the night of the Blue Birthday heist. I met a member of the Black Organization who uses the codename 'Snake.' …he mistook me for my dad, or maybe my dad's ghost, and tried to kill me. Shot me in the heart." Hakuba looked up at him sharply at the last statement, his eyes dropping to Kaito's chest as if he was expecting to see some sign of the wound. "But I had the jewel in my front pocket," he continued without pause, pulling a new textbook from his pile. "Lucky, huh. …and that's how I found out _who_ killed my dad."

"…so you already knew he had been killed. My research said it was an onstage accident. I take it that was inaccurate," Hakuba mused quietly, leaning his head back against the armrest. "…but you _already_ knew it wasn't an accident," he finished catching the subtle emphasis of Kaito's last statement.

Kaito forced himself to read the passage about treating burns for a second time to help himself stay detached in front of the British detective. "I know you secretly think I put on that cape because I'm some kind of freakish klepto, but I _did_ have a reason for doing it all. It was the only way I knew of to find Snake again."

"Those people that have started popping up recently trying to shoot you during your heists," Hakuba cut in, eyes wide with sudden realization. "Is that _them_?" Kaito nodded and turned his back to Hakuba to fuss with the soaking bandages again.

"So you've been using your thief persona to draw out these killers intent on killing you while you insist on no weapons and the only thing you can shoot back are pieces of paper. I think you're an idiot," Hakuba sniped.

"So I've been told," Kaito answered with a ghost of a wry smile at the unconscious Conan.

Hakuba raised an eyebrow before continuing, "And they're this Black…"

"The Black Organization, yeah," Kaito muttered, carefully wringing out the bandages. "But I didn't know what they were called until that museum heist… or how big they really were."

"You learned about them from Conan-kun," Hakuba said running through that night's conversation between the boy and thief he had burst in on. "How does he know about them?"

"Thanks to the little tantei, I know their name now. I know they're bigger than I ever could have guessed," Kaito continued. "And that they've even infiltrated the police."

"That's not what I asked, you're dodging the subject," Hakuba groused. "How does a seven-year-old know about these people?" He blinked, absorbing Kaito's final words. "…and what do you mean the police have been infiltrated_?_!"

Kaito almost grinned that even under the current circumstances, he could still redirect the British detective so easily. "This morning, I was supposed to lead a heist at that building," he said motioning with his head to the television.

"Wait, _I_ never heard about any Kid case today_?_!" Hakuba interrupted angrily.

"I planned it with Nakamori-keibu and Megure-keibu to take down one of _their_ hide-outs," Kaito continued with the smallest of grins at the detective's affronted attitude. "Only people they trusted were to be included, but there was a mole hiding in spite of the safeguards we put in place."

"At least _now_ you know the mole had to be someone included on the case," Hakuba mused with a growing frown, deep in thought. "Nakamori-keibu is _not_ going to like the idea someone on the task force is dirty."

Kaito managed to crack a decent smile at the thought of the inspector's expression after he had a little talk with him about that morning's events… if he managed to convince Hakuba not to arrest him on the spot. The smile vanished at the thought of how he was going to manage that feat.

"I still can't believe this… organization has infiltrated the Tokyo police force," Hakuba muttered in disbelief. "What else do you know about these people?"

"They're wanted for more things than either of us can possibly imagine. Conan-kun can tell you more about them than I can," Kaito answered.

"You still haven't told me how he knows about this," Hakuba retorted.

"You'll have to ask him yourself," Kaito answered firmly. "It's not my place to tell you his secrets. But I _can_ tell you these people are responsible for my father's death… and the attempted murder of Kudo Shinichi."

Hakuba's mouth fell open in shock at his final statement. "These people tried to _kill_ Kudo Shinichi_?_!" he exclaimed when he finally had his voice back under control. He fell quiet in thoughtful silence. "Don't tell me, it happened about a yea…"

"…a year and a half ago," Kaito finished, digging through his boxes of supplies in search of something. "Welcome to the very _small_ group of people that know what really happened to him," he muttered untangling a pair of scissors from the elastic bands of a stack of facemasks. "And why he's still gone… for the most part anyway," he finished, studiously avoiding looking at Conan or Hakuba lest he give away more than he should. His frayed nerves were making keeping _any_ hold on his emotions a lost cause at the moment.

Hakuba watched him closely, quite sure Kuroba was avoiding looking at him, occasionally sneaking glances at Conan. "So Kudo-kun is in hiding, I take it?" he finally asked.

"Something like that," Kaito muttered rising up on his knees, scissors in hand, and studying Conan's hold on the coat.

"…he's not using Conan-kun to investigate these people while he's safe hiding, is he?" Hakuba asked, disdain creeping into his voice. Kaito glanced at him in shocked surprise.

"You've never met Kudo, have you?" he asked with a surprising rush of protectiveness. "Kudo would never use anyone, and he's anything but safe right now. In fact, he'd probably be a lot safer if the stubborn brat would ask for _help_ once in a while." He snapped his mouth shut, catching his slip too late and prayed Hakuba wouldn't ask him why he chose the word 'brat.' He bent over his 'patient' hoping it would curb anymore prying from Hakuba.

Kaito carefully pulled on the coat, un-wedging it from under Conan's grip, partially unwinding the fabric from his tight hold. Without further thought, he cut the fabric around Conan's grip, freeing the bundle. Freed from their hold, Conan's arms curled over his chest and Kaito lifted the surprisingly heavy coat away. He wasted little time in unwrapping the coat curious to see what Conan had been guarding that was worth more than protecting himself in that firetrap.

Hakuba looked up in alarm hearing a choked gasp escape Kuroba. He crawled himself as close as the handcuffs let him to look over his shoulder. His eyes widened at the intact computer hard drive in Kuroba's lap.

'_Kudo, you do amazing work!_' Kaito held the precious drive close, afraid to touch it or damage it in any way. The lone fragile piece of evidence left to them that had survived a fire and a roof collapse thanks to his former rival's sacrifice.

Behind him, Hakuba glanced at Kuroba's stunned face over his shoulder. Realizing the thief was lost in thought, he pulled back and glanced at the child on the couch, verily impressed that the boy had been clear-minded enough under pressure to rescue _anything_ from the blaze. Staring at Conan, he frowned in puzzlement. Something seemed… off. He froze realizing what was amiss staring at the mask over Conan's face.

"Kuroba! He's not breathing!" he cried, grabbing the back of Kuroba's shirt.

"What_?_!" Kaito set the jacket down, shoving it aside roughly. Sure enough, Conan's breath was no longer misting against the mask. He pulled the mask off dropping his ear to Conan's chest and his sluggish heartbeat.

"I **told** you he needed to be hospitalized!" Hakuba yelled, awkwardly moving out of Kuroba's way.

"You're not helping," Kaito muttered grabbing the scissors and cutting open Conan's pajama top quickly. "I've got a portable de-fib device in my workroom," he muttered rushing to his feet.

"You have a defibrillator?" Hakuba muttered to himself, edging closer to the boy, trying to assess his condition.

Kaito dug a set of small keys out of his pocket and flung them in Hakuba's direction, racing for his father's portrait. "Either arrest me or help!" he yelled over his shoulder.

Hakuba grabbed the keys out of the air and got to work on the cuffs. "We need to move him to a flat surface!" he yelled after Kuroba. "Can I move him or does he have a back injury!"

"How should I know!" Kaito yelled back already on his way back up the stairs carrying the de-fib device. He joined Hakuba on the floor where Hakuba was shoving his arms under Conan and preparing to lift him off the couch.

"Get his head!" Hakuba ordered, waiting for Kaito to place steadying hands under Conan's head and neck. In silent agreement, they carefully lifted the boy's light weight together. The instant Conan's weight was lifted, he dragged in a deep sucking breath, gasping heavily to fill his starved lungs.

Hakuba gaped, staring at the boy in their arms, breathing again albeit heavily labored. "What just happened?"

Kaito stared carefully, studying Conan's chest falls. "Put him down again," he told Hakuba quietly. Together they carefully set him back down the couch. Conan's next intake of air turned into a desperate gasp and his chest stopped rising completely. Kaito hastily dug out a stethoscope from his stash of medical supplies. Spreading open Conan's pajama top he ran the end over Conan's chest listening closely. Above him, Hakuba let out a loud gasp which Kaito promptly tuned out.

"We need to lift him up again," he said hanging the stethoscope around his neck. He ignored the aghast expression on Hakuba's face digging his hands under Conan's head and neck again. "I want him sitting up." Belatedly, Hakuba reached under Conan and helped Kaito sit Conan up. Again, once he was no longer lying on his back, Conan resumed his labored breathing.

"Sit down up here," Kaito ordered moving out of the way for Hakuba to take a seat next to Conan. He moved the boy against Hakuba and forced a shocked Hakuba's hands into place supporting his neck and head. With quick movements he cut open the back of Conan's top to inspect his back.

"What's wrong with him?" Hakuba finally asked, watching Kaito poke and prod along Conan's back.

"He'll be alright," Kaito said with a relieved sigh. "It's the swelling. It's pressing his lungs shut when he lies down. He'll be able to breathe if we keep him in this position," he said, slipping the oxygen mask over Conan's mouth and nose again.

Hakuba watched Kaito open the black old-fashioned doctor's bag that had been sitting unused by the couch and pull out a bottle of clear liquid and a capped hypodermic needle. "You're sure that's what's wrong with him?" he asked uncertainly watching Kaito settle himself on the floor and pull one of his medical books into his lap.

"You've never fallen out a second-story window on your back before, have you?" Kaito replied speed-reading his way through the pages.

"Of course not," Hakuba muttered, watching him read.

"Ask the kid about it sometime, it was his fault," Kaito returned with a distracted scowl of remembrance. "Now if you don't mind, I need to figure out how to convert an adult dosage for him."

Hakuba watched him read for a few seconds more and slam the book shut, tossing it back into the pile of texts. "You already figured it out?"

"Yup," Kaito said already drawing liquid into the syringe.

"Are you sure? You're not a doctor," Hakuba said in cautious warning, watching him pull down the torn pajama top from one of Conan's arms and swab his bared arm.

"It's just a steroid. It'll take care of the swelling," Kaito muttered stabbing the needle in with a practiced hand. "But he's going to be awfully sore for the next few days and I'm betting more than a few bruised ribs. I'll need to wrap those once this swelling is under control," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

Hakuba watched him work silently while he bandaged the puncture mark. Kaito pulled off the remains of the torn pajama top and did his best to ignore the detective's scrutiny while he bandaged Conan's burned arms and hands. He finally looked up at the odd expression on Hakuba's face when the staring started to unnerve him. "What!"

Hakuba studied the cross look on Kaito's face for a moment before speaking. "He's been shot," he said quietly, watching the thief's face closely. "What happened to him?" Kaito frowned up at Hakuba, expecting to see some form of accusation on the detective's face. There was none, just a deeply disturbed worry. "There are scars all over him. Some of these only closed recently. Who's done this to him?"

Kaito studied Hakuba's face quietly before returning to bandaging. "It was in the paper about a year ago, last spring," he muttered softly, glancing at the vicious exit wound scar on Conan's back. "He and his friends caught some murderers in the act of burying someone at some caverns. Caught the bastards even after being shot. The new ones are from the helicopter attack at the tower two weeks ago. I don't know about the others. Probably from other cases he's solved."

"He's just a child. What is he doing getting involved in so much danger? Who's been keeping watch over him letting him get this hurt?" Hakuba growled in mounting anger.

"The way I understand it," Kaito muttered, tossing a small shoe and sock over his shoulder, "danger finds him."

"That's not an answer," Hakuba returned in mounting frustration.

Kaito ignored him in favor of inspecting Conan's leg for burns as far as the rolled up pajama material would let him. He let out a low whistle when he found the swollen purple toes on Conan's foot. He was able to put off answering Hakuba for several more minutes while he searched his supplies for a splint that would fit.

"I don't know what it is you want me to tell you Hakuba," Kaito mused, finally answering the detective. "You're persistent, he's more persistent. Did you know he actually jumped off the Space Theatre to chase me once?" He paused to reach for the bandage tape to fix the splint in place. "You have no idea how glad I am that he's on _my_ side this time."

"Right. This syndicate you're after," Hakuba replied somewhat distracted in his own search and inspection of the boy's injuries. "You, a grown high schooler, begging help of a second grader."

"Exactly," Kaito muttered, ignoring the jibe. He was grateful when Hakuba fell quiet again and he could continue his inspection of Conan's other leg in silence.

"Is that what I think it is?" Hakuba asked quietly.

Kaito glanced up from his work to where Hakuba was eyeing a half-faded bulls-eye bruise over Conan's belly, visible now that the pajama top no longer hid it and partially hidden by his bottoms. He frowned at the dredged up memory from his childhood when Aoko's father was still detective, before he was assigned exclusively to Kid heists, and the half-memory of the damage a bullet could do when absorbed point-blank by a bulletproof vest. He shut his eyes for a moment remembering how angry and worried his mother and father had been with the man after making sure Aoko wasn't around to hear them.

"He must have been shot during the attack at the tower," he muttered feeling his temper rise. A glance back up at Hakuba told him the blonde detective's own horrification was also bleeding into anger. He searched his own memory of his last few visits with Conan for any sign the shrunken Kudo might have betrayed, some sign of pain, and back to the night of his museum heist when his handling of the kid had been less than gentle.

"How was he shot with no penetration?" Hakuba asked, probing him for an answer.

Kaito sighed sitting back on his heels. "He has a belt that can shoot out a soccer ball, if you can believe it," he replied, again searching his memory of his last few encounters with the boy. "He wasn't wearing it at the museum, so that must have been what took the hit." Kaito sat back and took in the small boy, almost being cradled against Hakuba's side, his first moment he'd had to just sit and take stock of the last few hours. He pulled off the laytex gloves and tossed them aside letting his sweating hands breathe for a moment. And having quite forgotten his own part in Conan's rescue, leaned back and braced his hands on the carpet.

Hakuba looked up suddenly at Kuroba's sharp hiss jerking his hands off the carpet in pain. He winced, leaning forward and seeing the bright red burns on the thief's palms and fingers. In his lean, Conan's position was jostled and he let out a soft moan of pain.

Hakuba and Kaito froze staring at each other and Kaito sprung to his knees leaning forward on the couch cushions with the backs of his hands, burns forgotten again and studying Conan closely while Hakuba slowly resumed his earlier pose and carefully positioned Conan so he could see the boy's face.

Conan's eyebrows furrowed in pain for a moment before smoothing out when the movement pulled at the new stitches on his forehead. Dark blue eyes slowly opened a fraction staring unfocused and slowly closed only to fight their way open again slightly wider. Kaito crouched down, trying to meet Conan's low stare that was somewhere around Hakuba's knees. "Conan-kun?" he asked softly, trying to get the boy's attention.

Conan's eyes lifted slightly and finally met his own worried gaze. Fighting to stay awake, Conan's lips moved slowly without sound under the oxygen mask. Kaito reached forward and pulled the mask down. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked frantically, trying to hold Conan's eroding attention. "I didn't hear you! Does it hurt somewhere?"

Again, and forcing every inch of energy it took him to do so, Conan mouthed the same words silently. Kaito sighed in understanding, the corners of his mouth twitching spastically under his adrenalin fear-rushed energy. "It's safe," he told the exhausted boy in a shaky but firm voice. "I got it, it's safe." Conan's eyes held steady with his for another second or two and finally slid closed as he passed once more into unconsciousness.

"What?" Hakuba asked in a tight voice, distraught that his movement may have hurt the boy. "What did he say?"

Kaito tilted his head to the side toward the crumpled coat on the floor and sat down heavily against the couch with a shaky sigh of his own. "The coat," he muttered dropping his forehead to the cushions, "He wanted to make sure the coat was safe." His shoulders dropped weakly in exhaustion while his curled hands shook slightly. "That was scary. I thought we hurt him," he gasped trying to tame the nervous energy that had flooded him.

Above him, Hakuba tightened his own hold on Conan and glanced around the mess of soiled towels and bloody used surgical gloves littering the piles of books and equipment around the couch and Kuroba's dead slump against the couch cushions. Kuroba had turned his head to the side to breathe easier and for the first time, he fully took in the burns on the thief's hands and around his ears where his gas mask had left him unprotected. He was quite sure Kuroba's clothes were hiding their own mess of injuries.

"Go take care of yourself. You're hurt too, aren't you?" he suddenly blurt out.

Without moving his head, Kaito looked up at him from the couch cushions, studying him carefully. Hakuba sighed realizing Kuroba was probably trying to decide if he was waiting for him to relax his guard so he could call in the police. "I'm not going to call the police," he muttered seeing a shielded look fall over the thief's eyes and guessed his assumption was right, "this Black Organization will come after you both if anyone finds out you two were involved in that fire, right?" He looked away and down to the top of Conan's head, away from Kuroba's carefully blank eyes that somehow still felt accusatory. "Besides, I can't really move until that shot starts working and we can lay him down anyway."

Kaito held his stare at Hakuba for a few more silent moments and finally pushed himself up. "I'm sorry," he finally muttered staring down at the woven pattern of the couch with sudden interest for a moment. "About all of this," he finished quietly.

Hakuba looked back down at him absorbing the full meaning of Kuroba's words and silently considered his own before speaking again. "This is all about your father and finding these Black Org people? Finding the people who killed him, right?" he finally replied. Kuroba held his gaze downward, quietly awaiting his judgment. "I can't agree with your method, but now you've gotten mixed up in this with Conan-kun… and… Kudo-kun, haven't you? You still haven't told me either of their parts in this." Kuroba winced slightly. Hakuba sighed in frustration. "Just go fix yourself, I'll figure things out later." He reached for the tv control on the couch arm next to him where Kuroba had left it and took out his frustrations angrily channel hopping and firmly ignoring Kuroba's presence.

Satisfied that Hakuba was letting him off the hook for the moment, Kaito carefully lifted the hard drive, coat and all and set them on the coffee table he'd pushed aside earlier. Still feeling an odd weight in the fabric, he fished out two cell phones from one of the pockets. '_So that's how you manage things, Kudo,_´ he mused to himself turning both on, one with a generic background and the other with a shot of a sleeping Mouri Ran for its wallpaper. The phone obviously Kudo's let out a beep warning of its soon approaching death and Kaito hurriedly turned it off before it drew attention, the other was equally near power loss. He set Conan's phone on the coffee table and pocketed Kudo's without Hakuba's notice to charge safely in his room.

"If you're not arresting me in the next half hour I'm going to catch a quick shower," he sighed, leaving Hakuba busy holding Conan in a sitting position on his lap. Hakuba sent a tired glare after him but said nothing; quite sure the thief wasn't going to make a run for it.

Kaito had just shut a door somewhere upstairs when Hakuba noticed something bright red and silver on the floor where the coat had been minutes before. He leaned forward to see what looked like Conan's red bowtie with a series of odd-looking dials on it. He scooted himself closer, wary of the injured child he was holding. Just able to hook a finger through the loop of red belting, he scooped up the odd contraption studying the dials. He gave each an experimental turn and almost dropped it in guilty surprise when the cell phone on the coffee table gave a loud ring. Holding Conan awkwardly, he made a quick grab for the phone and flipped it open pausing just long enough to read who was calling, Mouri Ran, before answering.

"Hello?" Hakuba jumped as the voice he heard was not his own, but the irritating Kansai detective friend of Conan's he had met during the false Detective Koshien event. He glanced down at his hand seeing Conan's bowtie caught on his watch.

"Cona… Hattori-kun? Is that you?" Ran's voice answered sounding confused. "Why are you answering Conan-kun's phone? Did my dad get a case? Did he ask you to look after Conan-kun?"

"…um…," Hakuba faltered hearing the new voice again sound, coming from the bowtie.

"I'm so sorry we've troubled you, Hattori-kun," Ran continued. "I'm on a field trip right now and I just wanted to see how Conan-kun's doing. Is he around, can I speak with him?"

"…uh… he's sleeping," Hakuba answered experimentally staring down at the unconscious boy in his lap in confusion.

"Oh," Ran answered, sounding disappointed. "We're camping in a place with no signal. I was only able to call because my group came to town to pick up supplies. Please let him know and I'll try to call again when we're on our way back this evening. Thank you again for looking after him. Give my best to Kazuha-chan for me."

Hakuba stared at his wrist and the bowtie, forgetting to say anything in return and tossing the phone aside to pluck the device off his watchband. He spun the dials again randomly and brought it to his mouth. "Hello," he tried again, eyes widening in disbelief when Nakamori-keibu's voice answered him. He searched around, looking for the device Kuroba had in his hands earlier when he passed out. On the end table at the far end of the couch, he glimpsed a flash of silver. Inching himself closer, he picked up the child-sized watch, turning it over in his hands for a close inspection. The watch face glass had a set of perpendicular red lines on it and one of his fingernails caught the edge of the glass which lifted easily, the red lines now obviously recognizable as crosshairs.

Above him, a door opened and a casually dressed Kaito in tee-shirt and jeans walked down the stairs toweling his wet hair dry with bandaged hands. Hakuba glared at him and Kaito froze automatically in mid-hair rub halfway down the stairs.

"What the hell is this_?_!" Hakuba demanded holding up the bowtie and watch.

"Damn," Kaito muttered.

* * *

Two hundred miles away, Heiji was walking to his next class at school after spending his lunch period helping some of the newer members of his kendo club with extra lessons. He glanced at the cell's screen to see who would be calling him half-hoping for a new case.

"Hey, 'Neechan," he answered happily. "What can I do for ya?"

"Oh, I'm sorry I hung up on you a minute ago Hattori-kun. My phone must have dropped the call," Ran said in an apologetic rush. "I just wanted to tell you the number to Poirot's is on the refrigerator and to order whatever you need for you and Conan-kun. Tell them to put it on our tab. Thank you again, for doing this. Goodbye."

Heiji stared at his phone in confusion for a moment almost wondering if he should call back and ask. He shoved the phone back in his pocket with an aggravated sigh. "Damn it. _Tell me_ when you're using me for an excuse Kudo!"

* * *

Kaito stayed frozen on the stairs, staring at the bow tie in Hakuba's hands. "Umm… You'll have to ask Conan-kun when he wak…"

"You will answer me, and answer me now!" Hakuba ordered firmly, cutting him off. "You know exactly what these are, don't you! What kind of game are you playing?"

"No game. Not mine anyway," Kaito replied evenly, recovering quickly. He made his way to Hakuba and snatched the two items out of his hand. "Seriously, this isn't my secret to tell."

"Well, you're stuck telling it so start!" Hakuba returned, glaring Kuroba down.

Kaito held his own glare with Hakuba for a few more seconds and finally looked away with a frustrated sigh and sat down at the far end of the couch so he wouldn't jostle Conan. "Fine," he muttered drawing his legs up to sit Indian style. "This is your revenge, isn't it," he said under his breath to the blissfully unconscious child. Looking back up at the not so patiently waiting Hakuba he gave a final tired sigh. "Just to warn you, it's not like I know everything, okay? All I can tell you is what I've figured out for myself." He held Hakuba's gaze until the British detective gave him an answering nod. "Okay," Kaito said, more to himself as he stalled, trying to figure out what to say. "Um… have you ever wondered how the whole 'Sleeping Kogoro' thing works?" he finally said lamely.

Hakuba stared at him in disbelief… down at the two devices in Kuroba's lap… and back up at him. "Surely you don't expect me to believe this entire time, this boy has been using Mouri-san to solve crime in secret," he said in a flat deadpan voice.

"And a man who goes into a trance to solve mysteries is more believable?" Kaito replied.

"He's seven," Hakuba answered back.

"So. You've worked with Conan-kun before. You have to admit he's good," Kaito returned evenly.

"You're saying all this time he's been using these toys…"

"Tools," Kaito interrupted.

"What?" Hakuba asked in a distracted voice.

"Tools, they're not toys," Kaito repeated. "We all have the tools of our trade. I have mine, these are his. Believe me, they're not toys," he finished reminiscing on the friction burn to the face and broken monocle one of Conan's soccer balls had cost him.

"How many of these 'tools' does he have?" Hakuba ground out around his increasing aggravation.

Kaito held Hakuba's gaze patiently until the detective understood that he wasn't joking around and was indeed quite serious. "The watch, the voice changer, the belt I mentioned before, power shoes…"

"Power shoes?"

"If he kicked a brick at you, he could take your head off," Kaito answered evenly. "And a motorized skateboard. Those are the ones I know about. And the watch only has one shot."

Hakuba stared at him incredulously. "…is Mouri-san in on this little charade of theirs?" he finally asked.

"Not a chance," Kaito replied with an amused grin. "The man has no clue what that one's been doing to him," he said with a nod to Conan. Hakuba followed his gaze down to Conan and Kaito used his inattention to nestle himself deeper into his corner of the couch and pull his knees up to his chest.

"Where did he get all these things?" Hakuba asked. He raised an eyebrow noting Kuroba's position and drooping eyelids as the night's exhaustion was fast catching up with the usually energetic teen.

"Agasa-hakase invented them for him," Kaito mumbled around a wide yawn.

"The inventor neighbor of Kudo-kun's?" Hakuba frowned not liking the coincidental return to the mysterious Kudo's involvement. "My research says he's a close family friend of the Kudo family."

"Mmm-hmm," Kaito answered leaning his head on the couch's back cushion and watching Hakuba with tired eyes.

"Don't even think about it. You are not falling asleep now," Hakuba warned his tired couchmate. "How long have you known he's been solving crimes this way?"

"The Memories Egg heist, I guess?" Kaito replied. "Though I figured out something was odd about him during the Black Star heist so I've been keeping an eye on him. Look, I swear I'll answer whatever you want. Just let me sleep for an hour. Please."

Hakuba glared at him but finally had to admit Kuroba looked completely exhausted. "One hour," he finally acquiesced. Kuroba let his head fall against the back couch cushion and was asleep in seconds. Alone and immobile for the most part, Hakuba picked up Conan's phone and debated calling Mouri-san to make some kind of excuse for Conan's absence. There was no way the boy would be moving anywhere for the next few days. While he was scanning through the address book for Mouri-san's number, the phone gave a warning chime and a message screen popped up informing him of a new text message. He only hesitated a second before opening the file.

'_Kudo, what's going on over there? What kind of excuse did you tell 'Neechan? Remember to keep me informed aho._'

Hakuba's eyebrows shot into his hairline in shock. "Dear God," he murmured scrolling down the screen to confirm who he already knew sent the message. His mind screamed at the sheer impossibility of the idea even as his eyes sought out the bowtie and watch Kuroba was clutching in one of his hands in his sleep. The idea was absurd, the Kansai detective must have made a mistake or texted the wrong person. But he knew that couldn't be. Lacking anything else nearby, he reached out and struck Kuroba's leg with the remote. "Why would someone call Conan-kun Kudo?" he demanded of the half-asleep thief who had barely reacted to the blow.

"…because he _is_ Kudo?" Kaito mumbled blearily curling into a tighter ball against the cushions. "Lemme sleep," he slurred and fell silent.

Hakuba whacked him in the leg again but the sleeping thief ignored it altogether without reaction. He considered hitting him again harder but gave up realizing the thief was far too exhausted to be any help. He was left alone to ponder exactly how such a thing could have happened. He stared down at the unconscious Conan and back to the phone in his hand. He pulled up the menu and quickly navigated himself to Conan's text message inbox. Beginning with the latest message, he took to reading, searching for confirmation of someone, anyone, else calling the child detective Kudo.

/

Kaito woke up several hours later feeling much better for the extra hours of sleep Hakuba had allowed him. He gave a small stretch and peered over to the far end of the couch where Hakuba was bent over Conan's phone, punching buttons with tense, agitated fervor.

"What's going on? Is something wrong?" Kaito mumbled in a sleep thick voice picking up on Hakuba's mood. Without a word, Hakuba punched a few buttons on the phone and held it out for him to read. Kaito's eyes almost slid cross-eyed trying to read the screen in front of his face. He stilled reading the first line of the message the Kansai detective had sent. He glanced back up guiltily into the accusing glare of Hakuba's. "Whatever you're thinking, this is _not_ my fault and I had nothing to do with it," he blurted out in a rush.

"It's really true, isn't it_?_! This… _**kid**_**… is the missing KUDO SHINICHI**_**?**_**!**" Hakuba yelled, unable to keep his voice under control after the day's trying events and it was only noon.

"Ooo-kay, I think I'll take over from here," Kaito replied, carefully lifting Conan out of Hakuba's grip and gently laying him back down on the couch, busying himself studying Conan's breathing. He experimentally lifted the mask off the boy's face, watching Conan's calm, steady breathing.

"How is that even possible_?_!" Hakuba pressed, watching Kaito pull one of the clean, unused towels from the floor to use as a make-shift blanket. "What did this to him?"

"…he was poisoned. They tried to kill him," Kaito finally answered. "They think he's dead." He studiously avoided looking at Hakuba fussing with the stethoscope and checking Conan's lungs.

"…and you've known all along that this _kid_ is Kudo," Hakuba accused the back of Kuroba's head.

"Look, what do you want me to say? Sorry_?_! I don't owe you a report for every secret I'm holding for him and no one is supposed to know about this," Kaito hissed back.

Hakuba frowned, noticing Kuroba unconsciously place himself hovering protectively in front of the boy.

"We still have no idea who out there could be one of their agents. If _anyone_ finds out this secret, the organization will kill him _and_ the Mouri's!" Kaito continued frantically. "You can't tell a soul about this! No one!"

"Relax, Kuroba. I know how to keep a secret and I am _not_ an idiot!" Hakuba sniped back. He ran a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh. "Now I'm starting to wonder which one of you is more trouble." Kuroba made a face, which Hakuba ignored reaching out and pulling him backward and off balance by the back of his shirt. "And I'm not going to hurt him. What are you, his protector_?_! Stop hovering!"

"Why are _you_ getting involved?" Kaito muttered crossly after waving off Hakuba's grip on his shirt. "The more questions you ask and the deeper you get, you'll only wind up in as much danger as we are. This isn't your case."

"And you think you two can handle this on your own? Because you've been doing such a wonderful job so far," Hakuba returned gesturing to the mess of medical supplies and bloody towels.

"All right, I screwed up. I already know that," Kaito muttered with a heavy sigh of his own. "Are you sure you want to do this? You can still walk away from this and _they'll_ never know you had a part in this," he said seriously. He held Hakuba's equally serious gaze for a few minutes and finally looked away. "Right. As long as you're sure."

He stood up and walked over to his school bag sitting on the kitchen counter and dug around, pulling out his wallet and tossing it to Hakuba. "If you're in, here's your first mission. Go buy him something to wear. He can't keep wearing that," he muttered nodding to the filthy scraps of his pajama top on the floor. "Another set of pj's would probably be best so he doesn't have to lift his arms to put the top on."

"You're sending me clothes shopping?" Hakuba asked slightly amazed that Kuroba was trusting him out of his sight so soon when he could easily contact the authorities.

"Would you rather steal some?" Kaito asked in amusement, scooping up the remnants of Conan's top from the floor and tearing the tag out. "_I_ don't have anything his size and I think your clothes are a little too big for him too. Here's his size," he said handing Hakuba the clothes tag. "I need to clean this mess before any of these stains set," he muttered gesturing to the mess in the living room. "My mom's already going to kill me for breaking her phone."

Hakuba glanced over to the cut curled cord trailing on the floor next to the phone. "Just get a new cord," he muttered still feeling slightly peeved staring at the site of his falling victim to Kuroba's sleep attack.

"Won't matter. She'll know," Kaito muttered staring at the two cards still stuck in the wall. "It was given to her by one of dad's old students. It was used in a movie she was in." He gave a frustrated sigh and started gathering his medical books. "She loved that phone," he muttered under his breath. "I am so grounded."

Hakuba gave him a final look almost expecting Kuroba to be watching him funny, for this 'errand' to be some sort of test of his trustworthiness. But Kuroba continued with his tidying up and the occasional hovering check over Conan. Pocketing the wallet, he quietly let himself out the front door.

/

Hakuba gave a final searching look around the neighborhood he hoped was subtle and let himself through Kuroba's front door. "I'm back," he sighed. His nose wrinkled at the strong scent of disinfectant in the air. At least it was better than the earlier smoke he decided. Not seeing Kuroba right away, he pressed into the living room. The previous mess of books and boxes of supplies were missing as was the pile of white by the sliding door.

"Where did you buy them?" Kaito's voice called out from behind the couch.

"I went all the way to Shinjuku," Hakuba muttered. "I _did_ know enough not to buy anything nearby." He leaned over the couch to see Kuroba outfitted in apron and 'kerchief hard at work scrubbing soot marks out of the carpet. He covered his mouth but couldn't stop the snort of laughter from escaping.

"What_?_! I didn't want the bleach to ruin my clothes," Kaito defended.

"No maid's outfit?" Hakuba asked in amusement. He busied himself carefully changing Conan into clean clothes without jostling him too much.

"I never repeat a performance," Kaito replied in private amusement of his own. "Well… except for that whole Blue Wonder mess." He sat back and wiped his brow with the back of his hand and watched Hakuba finish buttoning Conan's top. "…You're really okay with this?" he asked quietly.

"Not really but what choice is there," Hakuba muttered. "Where do you keep blankets?" Kuroba pointed to a door just visible on the second floor landing. Hakuba trudged up the stairs while the thief went back to his cleaning. "I don't suppose there's much else we're going to accomplish today," he said unfolding a blanket on his way down.

"Not until he wakes up," Kaito answered watching Hakuba spread the blanket over Conan. "I think he'll be awake by tomorrow."

"Then I'll come by after school," Hakuba replied. "Should I let Nakamori-keibu know I've joined the investigation?"

"No!" Kaito turned alarmed eyes his way. "If there's a leak in Division Two, I don't want anyone even _thinking_ Nakamori knows more than he should. The less he knows about what's going on, the safer he'll be."

Hakuba studied him for a moment. "Alright. We'll do things your way." He stood back up and retrieved his school bag from where Kuroba had left it against the wall. "I should head home then. I told my Baaya that I would come home straight from school today. You'll be okay watching him?"

"Yeah. Piece of cake," Kaito answered back looking over at Conan. "I think he's finally just sleeping."

Hakuba gave a nod and made his way back to the door. He paused, his hand resting gently on the door knob. "Things… are really pretty bad right now, aren't they?" he asked of Kuroba behind him. "The two of you are truly in a great deal of danger, huh?"

"…yeah," Kaito answered, pausing in his cleaning. "…I'm sorry you got dragged into this."

Hakuba opened his mouth to answer back but closed his mouth just as quickly glaring holes into the door realizing he had no idea what to say. Gritting his teeth, he pulled open the door and left Kuroba to scrubbing away all evidence of his and Conan's escapade that morning.

* * *

Conan woke up slowly, scrunching his face when he felt the heat of a shaft of light falling over his face. He opened his eyes and blearily stared at the shifting vertical blinds covering the sliding doors behind the high cushions of a couch. He blinked a few times, before suddenly gasping, instantly alert and looking around the unfamiliar room, keeping as still as possible so as not to alert anyone he was awake. A frantic glance around the empty room, such as he could see it without moving, left him looking at a seemingly normal household living room. He frowned, trying to place where he could be when it was obvious he was nowhere near a hospital.

A noise behind him and out of his view range alerted him to the fact he was not alone. He jerked his chin up to try and see what was going on above him… and stiffened tight as a board, his fingers digging into the cushions under him. His neck screamed with bright flashing needles of pain and the movement made him quite aware of the familiar pounding pain in his head and wave of nausea that accompanied light concussions. He bit down hard on his lower lip to keep from making any betraying sounds until he could figure out where he was and how he was going to get away when such a slight movement had caused so much pain. He bit back several curses which slipped out when allowing himself to writhe in pain exposed how hurt and damaged he actually was. There wasn't an inch of him that didn't hurt. Even his eyes burned horribly now that he was fully awake. "**Why does this crap always happen to me**_**?**_**!**" he yelled in pained aggravation, nearby possible kidnappers be damned.

"What was that?" a feminine voice said from somewhere over his head.

"Dunno. Probably the tv," a more familiar voice answered and Conan heard the swishing sound of fabric friction as someone rushed towards him from behind him, out of his line of view. A hand suddenly shot out and covered his mouth and he looked to the side seeing a frantic but relieved looking Kaito crouching down next to him. "Shh!" Kaito warned quietly. "I've got company over."

Kaito pulled his hand back and gave Conan a quick once over. "I didn't think you would be waking up today. I'm glad you're okay," he whispered, checking Conan's bandages.

"I don't _feel_ okay," Conan muttered testily, pulling the arm Kaito was inspecting back roughly and using it to scrub his sore eyes. "What the hell happened?"

"The ceiling fell on you," Kaito whispered back taking hold of his wrist and pulling his arm away from his irritated eyes. "Not sure if you'll believe me, but it was probably a good thing. Being buried under the debris protected you from the backdraft when I busted in there to get you," he explained quickly noting the skeptical look on Conan's face. "Is something wrong with your eyes?" he asked pulling the pocket-sized flashlight hooked to his key chain and shining the light in Conan's eyes.

Conan flinched away from the light, shutting his eyes and swatting Kaito's hand away with his arm. "Yeah, they hurt, so stop doing that," he grumbled grouchily.

"I think it's just flash burn from the fire," Kaito murmured, "I'll get you something for that."

"What did you do to these towels, Kaito? They're all blotchy and stained with something dark!" the earlier voice suddenly yelled from somewhere over Conan's head.

"Uhh… I washed 'em with my uniform and I forgot I had a marker in my pocket!" Kaito called back.

"Who's that?" Conan muttered quietly, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the situation and an unfamiliar person nearby.

"Aoko, my best friend," Kaito mumbled suddenly finding the band-aids on his fingers very interesting. "She came by to bring my homework for the day and saw you sleeping from the door. I told her I stayed home to baby-sit you. You're the kid of one of my dad's old students whose parents are out of town. You were in a car accident and there was no one else available to look after you, okay?" he whispered, giving Conan a sharp look until Conan nodded back that he understood the cover story.

"And your hands?" Conan asked softly, shutting his aching eyes.

"I burned 'em cooking," Kaito answered quickly. "Aoko knows I suck at cooking so she bought it, no problem." He watched Conan nod almost imperceptively around his sore muscles. "Oh… and umm… one last thing. Hakuba knows," Kaito murmured under his breath.

"Knows what," Conan muttered testily.

"Everything… um… Kudo," Kaito admitted guiltily.

"WHAT_?_!" Conan yelled, dropping his arm to glare. "Just what the hell were you doing while I was out_?_!"

"Shh!" Kaito hissed, frantically glancing back over Conan's head.

"Kaito?" the voice called from the kitchen.

"J-just the tv, Aoko!" he called back, snatching up the remote and raising the volume behind him. "Would you cut that out!" he hissed at Conan. "Look, I'm sorry! Things happened and now Hakuba's in!"

"Hakuba's in_?_!" Conan muttered. "This just keeps getting better and better. Just tell me _why_ I decided to let you in on this again?"

"We can discuss this later!" Kaito whispered back hastily. "In the mean time, I have to go run a few errands and you are going to behave like a good little boy while Aoko baby-sits you."

"Like hell…," Conan started with every intention of getting up until his injuries firmly discouraged said action.

"I'll be right back," Kaito assured him, "Just take a nap or something."

Conan crossed his heavily bandaged arms over his chest and pouted with an angry huff. He watched Kaito disappear up the stairs he noticed to the side of the room. A movement outside alerted him to the falling backpack Kaito must have tossed out an upstairs window through a break in the blinds covering the sliding doors. A few minutes later, Kaito came back down with a damp face towel he folded and set over Conan's sore eyes.

"Just relax here for a while," Kaito muttered quietly, keeping a wary eye towards the kitchen. "I'll be back as soon as I can and you can yell at me to your heart's content." He took Conan's aggravated sigh for consent and pulled the blanket that had been shoved down in the boy's earlier pained flailing back up over his grumpy patient. "And be nice to Aoko," he added.

"Yeah, yeah," Conan muttered, listening to Kaito move away from the couch.

"Aoko! I'm taking off!" he called toward the laundry room at the back of the kitchen.

"Okay!" she yelled back. "Do you want me to save you some dinner for when you get back?"

"Sure!" he yelled from the door. "I'll be back soon!"

"Okay. It's just you and me kiddo," the voice said drawing closer to Conan and he felt the couch dip when whoever it was took a seat on the couch above his head. A gentle hand pulled the damp cloth off his eyes and Conan looked up at the girl with mussy brown hair looking down at him with sympathetic eyes. "Hey, you look kind of familiar," she said giving him a puzzled look. "I'm Nakamori Aoko; I'm a friend of Kaito's. He asked me to look after you for a little while," she said in the happy gentle way of people speaking to small children.

His eyes widened hearing her last name and he swore inwardly at the teen who had just left. He was definitely going to do more than yell when the thief got back. "…Edogawa Conan," he muttered after a long hard look at her.

Hearing his name, Aoko's eyes widened in turn, startled. "…I… see…," she replied slowly with an odd look in her eyes. "You're the kid who helps out on Kaitou Kid heists. My dad says you're his lucky charm," she said, her smile coming back quickly. Conan nodded back, mindful of his sore neck. "Thanks for all the help you give him," she smiled. "Maybe one of these days, you'll help him catch that no good jewel thief."

"Yeah…," Conan replied quietly, shifting his gaze up to the ceiling.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, her good cheer returning. "I have some frozen fish in our freezer I've been meaning to cook and I'm sure Kaito wouldn't mind," she said, a little too enthusiastically. Conan frowned, wondering what joke he was missing. "I'll make us a great dinner," she smiled happily. She reached over to the coffee table and set the remote control next to Conan's head. "Here, I'll be done in half an hour," she grinned hopping off the couch and disappearing from view.

* * *

Kaito checked the wind direction one last time and then launched the simple paper airplane off the roof of the building where the sharp wind caught it in a steep diving curve and sent it sailing through the open window two floors down. Satisfied the plane had landed where it was meant to, he trudged back to the roof access and sat down on the pebble-covered roof in the shade of the rectangular structure to wait.

He didn't wait long as the sound of heavy quick footsteps echoed in the emergency stair well behind him. Around the corner of the sun bleached cinder block wall, Nakamori burst onto the roof looking around frantically. "Kid?" he called experimentally, trying to see if the Phantom Thief was somewhere on the access roof above him as he had been several nights ago.

"I'm here, keibu-san," Kaito answered with little enthusiasm.

Nakamori glanced around the corner, his eyes widening seeing the thief on the ground within two strides of grab-range. Instinctively, his hands moved to the handcuffs on his belt. Instead, he reached into his pocket for a cigarette and leaned against the door, eyeing the tall surrounding buildings he was likely visible from in the golden light of the setting sun. "So. What the hell happened today?" he muttered, fighting the urge to look around the corner and feeling conspicuously exposed on the sunlit roof.

"We've been trumped. Obviously," Kaito replied, resting his stretched out arms on his drawn knees, his hands hanging limply. "I never imagined they would set fire to their own building to hide everything."

"Gave 'em too much time between getting your notice and the heist?" Nakamori asked between drags.

"No," Kaito answered picking up a random pebble and tossing it, watching it skip across the other pebbles and skitter to a stop. "I heard from Kudo, these people have infiltrated the police. Be extremely careful. Someone near you or Megure-keibu may be working for them."

"What_?_!" Nakamori forgot about the nearby buildings and hung around the corner to yell at the thief directly. "The hell do you mean they've infiltrated us_?_! Who the fuck told you that_?_! Every single one of my team is a dedicated 'clean' officer!"

"My information on this is almost certain, keibu-san," Kaito answered with a practiced tilt of his head that perfectly hid his face from Nakamori's view. "At least one of either the group you or Megure-keibu assembled is working for them."

Nakamori stared at him, not wanting to believe him. Reluctantly, he pulled himself back and resumed his lean against the door. "Alright. I'll pass the word along to Megure," he ground out.

"Has anyone in the department been asking about the heist or that building?" Kaito asked feeling the butterflies of worry gnaw at his stomach.

"Nothing. Aside from the officers I picked for the job, it's like this mission is being ignored completely," Nakamori grumbled.

"Got it," Kaito answered. "In that case, whichever of you has the pictures, destroy the photos I gave you of Gin and Vodka."

"Destroy them_?_!"

"The negatives are safe with me, keibu-san," Kaito gently reminded him. "But you won't be safe if their mole finds out you and Megure have seen those two faces. Get rid of them."

"Fine, I get it," Nakamori grumbled.

"If anyone comes asking about who provided that information or who was trying to bust their lair, blame it on me," Kaito ordered firmly. "If you or Megure-keibu feel they're looking for someone to go after about this, make sure it's me."

"Like hell I'm sending these freaks after you!" Nakamori challenged.

"It's okay, keibu-san," Kaito returned before Nakamori could work himself up to full bellowing. "I'm more used to dodging them than you are. And you need to go home to that daughter of yours." Mention of Aoko calmed Nakamori quickly. "Besides, not _all_ evidence was lost."

"You have something?" Nakamori asked tensely.

"Possibly. I'll contact you or Megure if I find something," Kaito answered standing to leave. The sun had finally disappeared below the horizon giving him plenty of shadows to mask his exit.

"Kid," Nakamori called out pausing him in his walk to the roof edge. Kaito glanced back trusting the detective to stay on his side of the wall. "Thanks," the man mumbled gruffly, "For helping out on this one."

"Anytime, keibu-san," Kaito replied resuming his walk to the edge. "You and Megure-keibu, stay safe," he called back and took his last step off the roof, hang glider carrying him back home. Nakamori watched the glider disappear in the night shadows and pulled out his phone to call Megure.

* * *

"I'm back!" Kaito called out shoving the suitcase of clothes and overnight items he had… liberated… from the Mouri's home and his backpack hiding his night job suit in the coat closet before Aoko could notice.

"I'm in the kitchen," Aoko called back. Kaito took a quick peek at Conan who appeared to be dozing on the couch and trudged his way to the kitchen where Aoko was busy washing dishes.

Kaito let out a sigh of exhaustion and draped his arms over Aoko's shoulders, sagging against her back and burying his face in her hair. "Thank you, thank you for helping out," he muttered, indulging himself for a few moments peace after the last terrifying twenty-four hours. He felt more than heard Aoko freeze in the midst of her dish washing when he collapsed on her.

"Kaito."

He tensed, popping his eyes open, instinctively ready to pounce out of the way if she decided to protest his current position.

"I don't know what you've gotten yourself into. If you're not going to tell me the truth that's fine," she ground out. Kaito was definitely ready to jump out of the way, hearing her temper rise. "But don't think you can get away with lying to me," she hissed looking over her shoulder at his bewildered face. "There's no way that kid is the son of one of your Dad's old students. I happen to know exactly who he is. That's the kid who lives with Sleeping Kogoro. He was in the paper with Dad after Kid went after the Blue Wonder."

Against her back, Kaito scowled at the mention of the heist that had nearly ended with him caught in a gasoline explosion courtesy of the 'child' on his couch. "Hey, is that what you're bent out of shape about?" he asked setting his chin on her shoulder trying to get a better look at her. Aoko turned back to her scrubbing with a miffed huff.

Kaito grinned realizing she had no idea that she had streak of suds on her cheek that had been jiggling around during her angry tirade. He pushed himself off her back and hopped onto the kitchen counter next to the sink. With a confident smile, he reached up to one of the 5x8 picture frames hanging on the soffit over the sink. He held the picture of his family, his mother and father smiling happily with a grumpy five-year-old version of himself trying to squirm out of his father's arms, and two smiling women waving at the camera. "That's her," he smiled pointing at the beautiful light-brown haired woman next to his mother.

"Her_?_!" Aoko squeaked, putting down her sponge to take hold of the picture. "Isn't that Fujimine Yukiko, the actress_?_! Dad's a huge fan of hers!"

Kaito pulled back the picture with a finger over his lips. "Don't tell anyone, okay?" he said with a grin and hung the picture back on its nail. "It's true he's staying with the Mouri's but the name change is so he doesn't call unwanted attention," he replied, satisfied that he wasn't _completely_ lying. "Was everything okay while I was gone?" he asked pulling his legs up to sit more comfortably while he watched her work.

"He was a perfect angel," Aoko reported. Above her, Kaito couldn't quite stop himself from making a face knowing she was talking about the same testy detective who was in fact their own age. She grabbed a dishtowel and snapped his leg with it before throwing it at him. "If you're going to sit around up there, start drying. And get your feet off the counter."

"Yes, ma'am," he answered with a mock salute. He meekly got to work on the dishes she handed him.

"I forgot to tell you when I got here but sensei said to tell you you've used up your sick days and if you keep skipping you're going to be held back," Aoko muttered. She glanced back up into the living room, eyeing the couch. "Maybe if we told the principal about him, they'll let you off," she mused with speculative look in her eyes. "If there really is no one else who can look after him, they can't expect you to leave a little kid who's that hurt home alone."

"No! I mean, no that's alright Aoko," Kaito corrected himself in a rush. "You don't have to say anything to them. I'll go to school tomorrow, so don't worry about it."

Aoko raised an eyebrow at his frantic attitude. "You're going to leave that cute little boy who can barely move by himself?"

"Cute_?_! Really Aoko_?_!" Kaito grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest in a firm pout. "The kid is a complete brat with a foul mouth you wouldn't believe."

Aoko laughed at his affronted attitude. "Well I found him very sweet and we watched the new episode of Detective Samonji together," she replied smugly, completely amused by his sudden crabbiness. "He's practically as big a fan as I am."

"…yeah, sure. Leave the brat alone and he's all buddy-buddy, the little traitor," Kaito grumbled under his breath glaring holes in the back of the couch.

Aoko watched him out of the corner of her eye while she finished wiping down the sink area and finally turned off the faucet turning her full attention on Kaito. She reached out, grabbing the front of his shirt and yanking him close, his eyes going wide focusing on her suddenly very close face. "Kaito, you're not jealous of an elementary kid, are you?" she asked pressing uncomfortably close to his face and watching the dusting of red spread across his nose. Too concerned with her proximity, Kaito missed the movement of her hand… until she suddenly yanked the dishtowel from his hand and let go of his shirt, leaving him overbalanced to fall off the counter flat on his face on the unforgiving floor. Aoko giggled again, stepping over his prone body to move into the living room.

"Who's jealous, you heartless witch!" Kaito yelled after her, picking himself up from his sprawl on the floor. "And they're white today!" he called out, not the least bit ashamed he was resorting to cheap shots.

"Liar, they're pink with butterflies," Aoko called back, still laughing. She paused by the couch and dropped a quick kiss goodbye on Conan's forehead. "Goodnight, Conan-kun. I'll try to drop by tomorrow and maybe we can marathon my Samonji boxset. And if this grouch is mean to you, you just tell me and I'll hit him good and hard for you," she smiled at the now very red boy.

"Okay, Aoko-neechan," Conan chirped back at his wide-eyed innocent best despite his blush. From the kitchen, Kaito rolled his eyes contemptuously already imagining how the cute act the kid usually pulled on Ran must have worked on Aoko.

"Aww, I'm so sorry this had to happen to you," she said brushing his hair back. "You've been so brave. How about if I bring some ice cream tomorrow?" Timidly, Conan nodded his head the best he could with his injuries.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Kaito groused from the kitchen, retreating to the refrigerator for something to drink.

Back in the living room, Aoko rolled her eyes at his mature behavior. "I left your plate in the microwave," she called to him on her way out.

Kaito opened the microwave door happily, starving after his exhausting, depressing day. "**AAAIIIEEE!**" he jumped back and onto the opposite counter in terror. "**DEMON WOMAN!**" he yelled after the hysterical giggling cut short by the front door closing. "THAT WASN'T FUNNY!" he yelled after her. "AND I'M STILL HUNGRY!"

"You scream like a girl," Conan's grumpy voice called from the couch.

Kaito grabbed his mother's rolling pin from its usual resting spot by the sink and used it to slam the microwave door shut from a safe and proper distance. "Damn it, Aoko," he muttered, climbing back down from the counter and giving the microwave a wide berth. "…fighting dirty. That was _not_ cool." He abandoned the kitchen thankful that he still had that large bag of chocolates under his bed.

Swearing under his breath, he made his way back to the living room and the stack of homework Aoko had brought him. He glanced down at the boy, suddenly taking notice of the ceiling fan light glinting off Conan's very damp hair. "Why is your hair wet?"

Conan's face instantly took a very distinctive pink hue and his eyes were searching for someplace else to look. "Umm… Aoko-neechan gave me a bath?" he finally said resorting to the wide-eyed innocent look of adorableness that usually got him out of fixes with Ran.

"KUDO!"

"I tried to talk my way out of it, I couldn't stop her, this is not my fault!" Conan argued through his embarrassed blushes.

"You had **no** business letting her do that and she is **not** you're 'nee-chan!" Kaito yelled, just as red in the face. "I mean… you're my… and she's my… It's just **wrong**!" He stomped away only to come right back and shake a self-righteous finger in Conan's face. "She hasn't even seen **me**…" He trailed off, eyes wide, realizing what he'd just said. "It's… just… just… **sneaky** of you with her having no idea!" he finished glaring daggers at the shrunken detective who was glaring back, equally unamused.

"Said by the person who's been lying to her for how long is it now? That you've been keeping your night job secret from her and making her dad's life miserable?" Conan yelled back, his embarrassed anger taking over his better judgment.

"Like you haven't been doing the same damn thing to Ran-san all this time!" Kaito yelled back, just as angry. The two glared at each other for several more seconds until Conan finally looked away.

"We can't keep doing this," he sighed, staring back up at the ceiling.

Kaito heaved a sigh of his own and sat down on the floor leaning against the couch. "Yeah… I know," he finally muttered, staring at the tv commercials for a while. "…truce?"

"I thought we already had one," Conan muttered.

Kaito gave a tired amused snort and leaned his head back on the cushions to stare at the ceiling with Conan. "I vote we go to sleep and figure everything out tomorrow," he sighed. "I'd like to forget today ever happened… for at least the next eight hours."

"Fine by me," Conan said, "Now that Hakuba knows, we may as well wait until he's here."

"Right. He might get pissy if we leave him out of anything fun," Kaito mused. "I say next time something goes wrong, it's his turn to have an adventure." Conan made a small sound that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

Hiding a grin of his own, Kaito pushed himself up and studied the small boy. Carefully, he bent over and slid a bracing hand under Conan's neck spreading his fingers wide into the shrunken detective's hair at his nape.

"W-What are you doing?" Conan asked, suddenly going very still.

"Do you really think," Kaito muttered bringing his other arm around and digging underneath the boy, "I'm gonna make you sleep down here after the mess you went through this morning_?_!" With a bracing heave, he lifted the boy taking care not to bend Conan's neck or back unnecessarily. Conan grit his teeth in pain all the same but stubbornly refused to make a sound.

"Sorry," Kaito sighed, carrying the light child up to his room. "I know it must hurt. I'll give you a pain killer in a sec." Conan said nothing and Kaito kept his eyes on the path to his room knowing it must be taking the boy every inch of effort to hold in his pain and politely granted him the dignity to bear it in private.

"I think… you need to eat more," he muttered, making small talk while he carefully pushed the door to his room open with his foot. "You're way too light for your own good. No wonder Mouri-san can toss you around." Balancing on one foot, he used the other to pull his comforter down slowly, carefully so he wouldn't jostle Conan. "Alright, down you go." At the slight sound that managed to escape Conan, he shifted him down further on the bed foregoing the pillow and letting Conan lie flat. Avoiding looking at him, he pulled the sheets back up over Conan and left the room to dig the spare futon out of the hall closet closing the door behind him. The second the door clicked closed, he heard the muffled stream of curses escape that Conan had been holding in. Once his room was quiet again, he went back dragging the extra bedding and the large canvas bag of things he had picked up from the Mouri's. "Are there any medications you're allergic to?" he asked while he set up his bed for the night.

"…no…" Conan gasped out, wiping errant tears of pain from his eyes.

"Good," Kaito muttered, "I'll be right back." He disappeared out the door for several minutes and finally came back with an old black leather doctor's bag and book under his arm. "Give me a few minutes and I'll figure out how much to give you."

Conan eyed the aged bag from his position on the bed. "Is that…"

"…yeah. It's my dad's. Guess he had his own share of rough landings, too," Kaito replied, busy reading through the book and glancing back to the tiny writing on the glass bottle he had pulled from the bag. "This stuff 'll kill the pain fast and put you to sleep. I hope you don't mind seeing pink elephants for a while."

"Whatever. Just do it already."

"Patience, tantei-kun. I don't want you to o.d." Satisfied he'd done his conversions correctly, Kaito drew the liquid into the newly uncapped syringe and administered the shot. Conan sighed while the thief taped on the brightly colored Hello Kitty bandaid. "Don't laugh, these are the only ones Aoko buys me." He looked up to see Conan staring up at the ceiling. "What?"

"Nothing. It just seems I've been getting stuck with needles all week," he explained. "At least you're not that pervert, Araide," he mumbled under his breath.

Kaito raised an eyebrow but decided some things were better left unknown. "Uh… sure," he said shoving the medical bag and book under his bed.

"Don't you have homework?" Conan finally asked eyeing Kaito, already changing into pajamas himself.

"I'll do it during homeroom," he answered lazily, crawling under his sheets. "Today has been very long and very exhausting, so if you don't mind, I'm going to pass out now." He reached out and grabbed one of his school notebooks from the floor and threw it blind at the light switch by the door. The room was plunged into darkness and Kaito snuggled into his makeshift bed. "Night, Kudo."

"…," Conan eyed him from the bed for several minutes before finally giving a quiet answering 'goodnight.' Kaito was already fast asleep.

* * *

It was the same dream he always had. A fact he could never remember until _after_ he woke up screaming. Vodka's bulk was blocking the streetlight coming in through the agency's windows. Gin held him pressed flush against the door, hand covering his mouth, leaving him silent and helpless to stop Ran from looking for him. "**RAN!**" he managed to scream in warning when the hand pressing him against the agency's door moved to his chest. And he woke in a screaming rush only to find himself pinned by a strong arm in his place in bed, a firm hand pressing his forehead immobile to the mattress.

Above him, Kaito struggled to wrestle him still. "Kudo! Stop moving! You're too hurt to move like this!"

Too quickly awakened… or too slow to let go of his dream, Conan fought hard against the presence trying to force him immobile, restraining arms blurring into the choke hold Gin had him in only seconds before. "**Ran!**" he screamed again in a voice cracking in desperation.

"Stop, Kudo! She's safe! I promise, she's okay!" Kaito cried out in a desperate plea to make him _stop. moving._ "_Ran_ is safe!"

At the key words of 'Ran' and 'safe', Conan stopped in his flailing long enough to turn fear bright eyes on the equally frightened teen trying desperately hard to hold him still to prevent further injury despite having his arms clawed to shreds by the deceptively sharp nails small children have. Kaito still wasn't quite sure his 'patient' was completely free from his nightmares and refused to lift his hold while they stared at each other in the moonlight of his room each trying to get their breathing under control.

Finally focusing on Kaito's face, Conan shoved the arm over his chest off gathering his strength to push off the mattress. "I have to go," Conan mumbled, trying to roll on his side after his attempt to push up into a sitting position made his neck scream with daggers of pain. "I have to check." He frowned in confusion when rolling over didn't go so well and he realized Kaito was holding him down again.

"You're not going anywhere. You're staying right there," Kaito ordered in no uncertain terms.

Conan glared angrily at him, trying a second time to shove loose of his restraints. "You don't get it! I _have_ to go." He redoubled his efforts to sit up, grimacing in pain.

"I _do_ get it Kudo. I _know_ you want to see for yourself, but you can't move right now." Kaito sighed and settled back down to sitting on his carpeted floor when Conan went limp under his hold, curling his fingers into the mattress under him in pain. He ran his fingers through his sleep-mussed bangs in frustration keeping a sharp eye on the boy's movements in case he tried to sit up again. "Look, if you promise not to try to move while I'm gone, I'll get you the next best thing, okay?" He waited until Conan could look him in the eye and nod his agreement before he pushed himself off the ground and disappeared out the door.

Conan squeezed his eyes shut against the sharp stabbing pain in his neck muscles and the throbbing pain in his back his moving had caused and waited for it to settle back into its earlier dull throbbing. In his mind he counted prime numbers trying to distract himself. He was so lost in thought, he almost jumped when a pair of large, clunky, cushion-rimmed headphones were placed on him. He opened his eyes to see Kaito sitting on the floor fiddling with the dials of an old short-wave radio that had obviously seen better days.

"I know this stuff looks old, but it works fine," Kaito assured him when he noticed Conan watching him.

"It was your dad's." Conan let the statement hang and Kaito didn't bother to answer but rather bent closer to his work tuning in to the right radio band. Conan's eyes widened as the sound of Kogoro's distant snoring and the light sound of Ran's breathing filled his ears. "Snowflake?" he asked before he could stop himself when the answer was as plain as day.

"I did promise to help guard, remember?" Kaito replied with a tired grin. When Conan didn't answer, he rose up on his knees to see the pint-sized detective properly and smiled he when saw Conan's hands on the earpieces pressing the seal over his ears tighter, listening intently with a look of concentration on his face. "'Night Kudo," he said softly dropping down gratefully into his futon to catch a couple more hours of sleep before he had to drag himself to school.

* * *

"The answer is no, I'm not taking them off," Kaito said firmly walking back into his room.

"They're… too tight," Conan complained digging at the tight bandages around his middle. "I…can't breathe."

"Deal with it. Those ribs are bruised as hell if not cracked. They're staying. And stop scratching," Kaito muttered, tossing his towel from his morning shower over his desk chair.

"It itches," Conan retorted grumpily, but stopped digging under his bandages all the same.

"New skin won't grow if you keep scratching it off," Kaito replied with a grin digging through his closet for his uniform. He politely ignored the string of frustrated curses Conan let out.

"Look, are you sure you're going to be okay?" Kaito asked shrugging on his gakuran. He watched Conan through his full-length mirror while he buttoned his school uniform. On his bed, Conan scowled at him and shifted his eyes back to his ceiling.

"I'll… be fine," Conan muttered. "I'm not… a real… seven-year-old."

"I know, but you can barely move right now. If something happens, you're pretty defenseless right now," Kaito reminded.

"I'll… take my chances," Conan frowned up at him.

"Yeah, well, here's your phones," he set the pair of cell phones next to Conan's head on the mattress. "I charged both of them. If anything weird happens, call me or Hakuba, I put both our numbers in your Kudo phone, and we'll be here in no time. I also spread it around to the neighbors last night that there've been prowlers spotted in the area. They'll keep an eye on things and call me if any of our black-clothed 'friends' are seen hanging around." Conan maturely gave a huff and turned his eyes towards the wall as best he could without neck mobility. "And I put together some books to keep you occupied until I get back."

Conan looked back hearing Kaito drop the stack of books on the chair he had pulled up next to the bed. He turned his head as best he could to see the stack of colorfully covered hardbacks and studied the titles. One Inch Isshun, Tom Thumb, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Gulliver's Travels, The Littles, Stuart Little. He glared at Kaito who was grinning like a fiend while he shoved his notebooks into his school satchel. "How about no!" he growled at the teen who was out right laughing.

"Fine, fine," Kaito laughed buckling his satchel closed. "My bookshelf's over there," he said pointing over his shoulder. "Tell me what you want to read and I'll grab 'em for you."

Conan did his best to crane his neck without actually moving and studied the shelves full of books. The Arsene Lupin collection he was expecting but his eyebrows hitched at the familiar line of hardbacks. "You collect… Night Baron_?_!"

"Of course! They're amazingly good, you know," he grinned. "All first editions," he proudly stated. He frowned at the speculative look on Conan's face. "Drop it, runt. One of my dad's old students sends them to me on my birthday." Conan rolled his eyes at Kaito's explanation. "I'll let you re-read them but you better not break the spine."

"I never… read them," Conan sighed, shifting his gaze back to the ceiling.

"Really? I thought for sure you would have read everything your father wrote," Kaito returned in confusion.

"The main… character… is a villain," Conan answered stubbornly. "He's… a thief."

"And Sherlock Holmes was a junkie. Besides, how many places have _you_ broken into looking for clues to a murder?" Kaito retorted without anger.

Conan looked away, fighting the burn across his nose at the accuracy of Kaito's unassuming barb.

"We can argue ethics when I get home."

He watched Kaito pull the first novel off his shelf and drop it on top of the stack of books he previously rejected.

"Just give it a try, okay?" he said. "I'll be back as soon as school's over." Conan watched him close the door behind him and sighed heavily staring at the book. He never really could understand why his father, an accomplished detective, had written a book series about a thief. With a frown, he reached out and flipped the book over so the only thing facing him was a stack of pages. Satisfied that he was now somehow avoiding Kaito's challenge, he reached up over his head and grabbed his two phones.

Both were still set on silent from his last partial day of school that seemed so long ago now. With a heavy sigh, he turned on 'Conan's' phone. A 'bing' sounded and a small window appeared. '32 missed calls.' He let his arm fall back to the mattress with a whine of annoyance and flung his other arm over his eyes. After several minutes he reached up for 'Shinichi's' phone. Reading the screen, he decided one message waiting for him was much more reasonable. A few button presses later and he was waiting for his voice messaging to give him his missed call.

"…_Shinichi?_"

His eyes widened in shock hearing Ran's wavering voice.

"_Shinichi are you on a case where you can't call me?_"

He closed his eyes and draped his free arm over them. He could picture her in his mind perfectly and the way she hunched her shoulders and curled in over her phone when she was trying to keep from crying.

"_I really need you to call me, okay? I… I just need to know you're all right. Please._"

He put the phone down and stared at the ceiling for several minutes. '_That's why she was so sad that day,_' he mused searching his memory of Ran's obsessive house cleaning. He looked around the room as best he could with his sore muscles limiting him. His bowtie was nowhere in sight. Realizing his voice mail was now cycling through old saved messages, he ended the call and brought his phone up to text a message to her. A new message window was waiting for him informing him he had nine text messages waiting. A quick check of his inbox showed every single message was from Detective Sato. He frowned, wondering how Sato had managed to get his number. Seeing the detective's name brought back his clandestine conversation with Vermouth.

He opened her mail, each one some form of asking him to contact her or Takagi as soon as possible. After the first five, he was tempted to ignore the rest but kept reading anyway. The last message made him freeze. It was a transcribed copy of a memo to Megure-keibu requesting the identities of the minors at the tower attack be disclosed. "Oh no…" In shock, he forgot himself enough to try springing up off the bed.

"Shit! Damn it!" he cursed, dropping the phone in favor of holding the back of his neck, screaming in pain. He curled as best he could around his bandages which contrary to his instincts telling him curling in a fetal position would make him feel better only made his sore ribs join in the pain. With his abused body fighting every inch of movement, he bit his lip and forced himself to lay flat and relax his muscles. He held his breath and waited until the pain had stopped, or rather drop to a manageable level. He lifted his phone and hit 'reply.' 'Understood. Will contact you soon.' He sent the message and sighed. There wasn't much he could do about the two detectives until Kaito came home and found the bowtie for him. But there was someone he could contact without the bowtie. He called the familiar number and listened to the rings, wiping errant tears of pain out of his eyes.

"_Cool Kid! What can I do for you?_"

He smiled to himself hearing the FBI agent's cheery tone. "Jodie-sensei, we need… to talk. I need… a favor."

/

Conan woke up lazily from his nap, the afternoon sunlight filtering through Kaito's window alerting him to the late hour. Seeing nothing else to do, he glanced over at the stack of books. He winced at the pull to his sides reaching for the top book caused. He rested the book on his chest looking over the pristine flap jacket.

Kaito hadn't been kidding when he said it was a first edition. For whatever reason, when his father had started the Night Baron series, the first ten printings of each book came with a different cover, the titles hand-drawn and numbered by his father's own hand. For a series barely ten years old, they were already considered to be priceless. And he was holding number one in his hands.

Carefully, he turned it over in his hands. Kaito had taken amazingly good care of it considering he must have received the book almost ten years ago. It was his fierce opinion, especially after associating with Genta, that most little boys could never care for a rare book properly, yet not a single page was dog-eared, bent or colored on. Impressive, since Kaito must have been about the age of seven or eight when he got the book. A slight fold of paper caught his attention sticking up from between the pages at the top of the book near the end. He carefully pinched the uneven bit between the nails of his thumb and forefinger and pulled gently in case it turned out to be one of the pages bent up.

The slip of paper slid out of the book easily and he realized he was looking at a thin, folded piece of paper yellowed with age that must have been used as a makeshift bookmark. Carefully, and mindful of the cracks appearing in the folds' edges while he unfolded it, he eventually had the square of paper open. In the center of the note was a large black exclamation point. Eyes wide, he gasped in recognition of the handwriting and his recent memory of a matching square of paper. He carefully refolded the paper and set it just inside the cover of the book to ask Kaito about later feeling slightly spooked by the note's discovery.

Conan jumped slightly when one of the cell phones started ringing madly right next to his ear. He reached up to grab his 'Conan' phone pausing only to read who was calling. Raising an eyebrow, he brought the phone to his ear. "Hel…"

"_DAMN IT KUDO, YOU AHO! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I'VE BEEN TRYING TO REACH YOU!_" Heiji's very pissed voice screamed into his ear. Conan rolled his eyes and held the phone away from his ear. "_I've been calling you for TWO. DAYS. Where the hell have you been, ya little bastard!_"

Conan paused at Heiji's question. "I… don't know," he replied honestly, taking a sweeping look around Kaito's room. Come to think of it, he didn't even know Kaito's last name.

"…_what do ya mean, ya don't know where you are?_" Heiji finally replied worriedly. "_Are you okay?_"

"Hardly!" Conan muttered holding up his arm and staring at his bandaged hand that would make a mummy proud. "I… can barely… move," he replied, wincing at the pain in his ribs breathing deep enough to talk caused him.

"…_you're hurt?_" Heiji asked seriously. "_From that fire?_"

"…yeah," Conan replied. "I'm… kind of… stuck in bed… right now."

"_And ya have no idea where ya are at all?_" Heiji asked.

"Ekoda," Conan mumbled trying to dredge up some kind of memory from his encounters with Kaito the last few weeks or so that would help. "It's… at least… a second-story… house."

"_So you're in some neighborhood?_" Heiji asked sounding puzzled.

Conan thought back to the night before when Aoko had left to bring food to cook from her own house. She must have been gone for less than ten minutes. "I think… I'm somewhere… near… Nakamori-keibu's… house."

"_Nakamori-han? The guy who chases Kid?_" Heiji asked. "_Hold on, I'll look up his address._" Conan waited patiently while Heiji trolled the internet on his cell. "_Got it. I'll be there in twenty minutes._"

"Wait. You're here_?_!" Conan exclaimed.

"_I'll call ya back when I get to the neighborhood. Don't worry, Kudo. I'll find you._"

"Wait a minute!" Conan yelled breathlessly into the phone… too late, as the dial tone answered him. He gave a low swear and wondered whether he should call Kaito or Hakuba. His hand hovered over the other phone while he considered his options.

Slowly… quietly… a very small, very sneaky grin spread across his face. He pulled his hand back down to his blankets since resting his hands behind his head pulled at his ribs too much. It should certainly prove to be an entertaining afternoon.

/

"_Hey, Kudo. I'm in front of Nakamori-han's house. Can ya give me any hints?_" Heiji asked over the line.

Conan studied the window from the bed. "There's… a west-facing… window. …I… can see a… tree."

"_Alright, hold on. There's six two-story houses on the block_," Heiji replied. Conan waited patiently for the Kansai detective to get back to him. "_…there's a house right next door with a tree in front of the window._" He listened to Heiji's steps over the open line cross from concrete to the swishy sound of grass. "_I'm gonna throw my cap at the window. Tell me if ya see it._"

Conan watched the window patiently. A bicolored White Sox cap hit the window with a soft thunk and fell from view. "Saw it," he replied.

"_Okay. I'll climb up and get you outta there_," Heiji replied. "_Weird that someone was keeping ya right next door to a police inspector's house. They must not be too smart. Think ya can unlock the window when I get up there?_"

"Afraid not. I can't… move," Conan answered vaguely.

"_So they got ya tied up in there_," Heiji muttered. "_Must be tight. It sounds like you can barely breathe. I'll climb up and take a look. Maybe I can break the window._" Conan bit back an amused snort and watched the tree sway as Heiji started climbing.

* * *

Kaito jumped when his cell phone started vibrating suddenly at his side in the middle of classical Japanese literature class. He pulled the cell phone up, hidden from view by his textbook, and stared at the screen.

"Is everything alright?" Hakuba whispered from his seat behind him, leaning forward to look at the phone over Kuroba's shoulder.

"It's one of my neighbors," Kaito whispered back worriedly. "Sensei, I need to go to the restroom," he called out aloud, already running for the door.

"I need to go, too," Hakuba announced, racing after Kuroba. The rest of the class and the teacher blithely ignored the two, chalking it up to another day in the weirdness that was Kuroba and Hakuba's classroom behavior.

Hakuba caught up to Kuroba in the hallway, halfway to the stairs. "Yes, Sugiyama-san. Is something wrong?" Kaito asked in a tense voice straining to sound nonchalant.

"I'm so sorry to call you at school dear. But I thought I ought to tell you first," the elderly woman said. Hakuba waited patiently next to Kuroba able to hear the woman's voice quite clearly in the quiet hall. "There's a strange young man walking around your yard looking up at your windows. I spotted him in front of Nakamori-san's house a while ago, but he seems to have switched his interest to your place. Should I call the police? Oh, it looks like he's quite interested in the tree by your window."

Kaito exchanged a frantic look with Hakuba. "No, Sugiyama-san! Don't call anyone! I'm on my way home, now! Thank you for telling me."

"Someone's already found him_?_!" Hakuba asked incredulously. "Could it be _them_?"

"We need to go! Now!" Kaito said, shoving his phone in his pocket and running down the stairs with Hakuba right behind him.

* * *

Conan watched the branches of the tree outside of Kaito's window shiver spasmodically. He had given up holding the phone, having laid it on the bed by his ear and was listening to the constant stream of curses coming from the other end while Heiji was apparently trying to climb the tree _and_ keep from dropping his cell phone. Conan _had_ entertained the idea of telling Heiji he could put the phone away since he could hear him and his curses quite easily through the glass of the window but had decided that waiting for him to figure that out by himself was more fun. He bit back a snicker when the top of Heiji's hat finally made it into view.

Outside the window, Heiji pocketed his phone and carefully crossed a leg from the tree to the windowsill. With only room for one, he rested his knee on the narrow sill and tested the window one-handed holding tight to a branch with the other. "Kudo! Can ya unlock the window for me?" Heiji yelled through the glass.

From the bed, Conan threw back the covers and pulled up the bottom of his pajama top exposing the mess of bandages around his middle with a roll of his eyes. "Sorry!" he yelled back.

From outside the window, Heiji swore again and looked away. "Alright," he finally said. "I'm gonna break the window. Okay?" Without waiting for Conan's answer, he jammed his elbow into the pane of glass next to the lock.

* * *

"Come on, hurry," Kaito hissed at Hakuba, not waiting for the blonde to make it through the loose board in the fence and raced across his backyard for the sliding doors.

"Why are we sneaking in through the back and why do you have a pathway into the Nakamori's backyard?" Hakuba hissed back trying to shake loose his shoelace that was caught on an errant nail.

"Do you _want_ whoever it is to see us coming?" Kaito muttered reaching up to the frame over the door and pulling down the hidden key. He slid open the door as quietly as possible and slipped inside making his way to his father's portrait without a sound. By the time Hakuba made it inside, he had already resurfaced from his workroom with his cardgun at the ready.

Seeing Kuroba armed and ready, Hakuba reached behind his back and pulled out the revolver he had taken to carrying at all times since the previous day when Kuroba had first told him about the syndicate that had apparently overrun Tokyo and thumbed off the safety. As quietly as he could but still nowhere near as silent as the thief, he joined Kaito at the foot of the stairs and took a cautious look up at the dark hallway above them.

Kaito gave him a quick glance noticing Hakuba's approach out of the corner of his eye and gave him a sudden double take. "You took a _gun_ to school_?_!" Kaito hissed, thoroughly scandalized.

"I don't need lectures from you about breaking rules and it was in case of an emergency just like this," Hakuba whispered back without break in his watch upstairs. "What's the pla…"

The sudden and sharp sound of breaking glass from above them cut off Hakuba's words leaving them both staring wide-eyed at each other in silent fear and they both raced up the stairs almost fighting each other for position to make it to Kaito's bedroom without regard for the hollow noise they made running down the second floor landing and flinging open the bedroom door…

Conan raised an eyebrow watching the door slam open with Kaito and Hakuba, each training their weapons on the open window where Heiji was frozen in the act of climbing into the room. "Is school… over?" he asked calmly of the two wide-eyed frightened teens gasping for breath in the doorway.

_~fin~_

/

/

/

AN:

A non-rebreathing mask is a plastic mask that covers the mouth and nose with a valve that lets out the carbon dioxide breathed out while supplying oxygen from an open valve allowing passive assistance for troubled breathing (and has an inflatable bag attached but, oh well). Technically, Conan's condition warrants the use of a bad-valve-mask or BVM device, the one with the big hand pump someone has to squeeze, to provide a more proactive assisted breathing. (Read an EMT training workbook to learn this) But I figured of the two, Kaito was more likely to have the non-rebreather on hand so ya work with what you've got. If he had need of the other, it would have meant he would have to be admitted to a hospital being in a state where he couldn't or nearly couldn't breathe on his own.

There are also simple tests you can do to see if a person you're giving first aid to has suffered spinal cord injuries by lightly stroking the soles of the feet or ankles to see if the foot reacts to a reflex stimulus and the same can be performed on the palms. These are tests Kaito should have performed when he first put Conan down instead of trying to manipulate the body into a prone position. But Kaito is _not_ a doctor and I felt it was better for him to be mostly right and panicking than perfect. I figured on the occasions where Kaito _was_ hurt enough to need medical help, Jii would have been the one to handle it with probably a practiced hand having most likely helped Toichi with the odd injury as well.

Conan's back injury and lung issues are actually an injury I had myself in high school after an outdoor trampoline mishap. There were several of us jumping and I was doing flips when our jumping got out of sync just as I jumped for a backward layout. I consequently got only half the air but had already committed to the flip and had just enough time to realize it was going to hurt like hell. I landed first on my neck and shoulder, bounced, and landed weird on my lower back. And it did hurt like hell, though I guess I have landing on the trampoline and its bounciness to thank for not snapping my neck. The injury I gave Conan happened when I went to sleep. I lay down in bed and the second I exhaled, my lungs snapped shut, I actually felt them close and when I tried to breathe in, I could feel the air go down my throat and just stop, like it hit a wall. Well of course I freaked, and after a couple of failed attempts to breathe I decided to try and run for my parents room before I passed out but the second I sat up, my lungs just opened up and I could breathe if with just a bit of an oxygen buffer underrun from being freaked out. Once I calmed down, I could breathe fine just a little shallow. I experimented a few times and finally figured out the muscles around my neck and back were so swollen that they were pushing against my ribs when I lay down squeezing my lungs shut. (it felt_ really_ weird) It kinda sucked cause I had to stay sitting up the whole night so I stayed up and read all night and took ibuprofen by the handful until the swelling went down. The steroid Kaito gave Conan would have done the same job. The only thing I fudged in my depiction was the time. It took 24 hours (the next night) for that symptom to show up; the night I actually fell I had no trouble breathing at all. All in all, though, it only took a couple of days to get over the worst of it.

The Kuroba household: I borrowed the exterior from the Kid the Phantom Thief episode one special, and the interior from the manga such as I could make out and a large dose of my own bullshitting. (in case anyone calls me one it.)

Eps Referenced: 43 Edogawa Conan Kidnapping Case, 76 Conan vs Kaitou Kid, 188 The Desperate Revival: The Cavern of the Shonen Tantei, 189 The Desperate Revival: The Wounded Great Detective, 286-288 Kudo Shinichi's NY Case pt1-3, 469-470 Kaitou Kid and the Four Masterpieces pt1-2, 356 Kaitou Kid's Miracle Midair Walk, 472-3 Young Kudo Shinichi's Adventure pt1-2, 479 Three Days With Hattori Heiji, 515 Kaitou Kid's Teleportation Magic, 537-8 Kaitou Kid vs The Strongest Vault, M3 The Last Wizard of the Century, M8 Magician of the Silver Sky.

/

/

/


	9. Chapter 5 Metropolitan Police Detective

Disclaimer: not mine. Movie-verse & Anime-verse.

Summary: For Takagi-puppy and Sato-kitty

/

/

**~Chapter 5: Metropolitan Police Detective Story~**

/

Sato took to pacing behind Takagi's desk chair while Yamato and Uehara were still reeling from the video they had all just seen. Takagi stayed staring at the black video screen, chin resting over his laced fingers. "I still think we should put him in protective custody," Sato finally said with a tired sigh.

"Through official channels? We still don't know who in the department has been watching us," Takagi muttered. "Whoever it is would be able to follow our paperwork to whatever safe house we put him in."

"There's also the possibility that if we draw attention to the Mouri family at all, we could tip off the wrong person," Uehara added.

"So we wait until the reports are unsealed_?_!" Sato returned, "By then it'll be too late to do anything! At that point someone is sure to make a move!"

"Then we should have things in place before the clock starts moving," Yamato mused, "Uehara and I can take him, and the rest of the Mouri's if we need to, to Nagano." Behind him, Uehara nodded her agreement.

Sato nodded her own agreement. "If it comes to that," she said. "I'll ask Shiratori-kun to let me know when it happens." The two Nagano detectives exchanged looks of agreement.

"We still don't know who fired on the helicopter," Takagi reminded them with a heavy sigh.

"Could it have been that Kudo, or was he even there?" Yamato asked in heavy skepticism. "I'm finding it hard to believe he was ever there and if he wasn't… when did he and Ran-san have time to come up with a cover story that placed everything on him?" He inched back on his crutch until he could sit on the couch's armrest and take his weight off his leg with a grateful sigh. "I'd also like to know how that Kudo person knew what was happening at the tower so soon," he continued, "And how he knew that Ran-san and Conan-kun's identities needed to be protected. Does he _know_ something about these people_?_!"

The attention of the three detectives in the room unanimously fell on Takagi, the only person in the room with any extensive knowledge about the missing teenage detective. "I-I wouldn't be surprised," he finally stammered under their combined scrutiny.

"It seems we need to find him too," Sato sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, her eyes clenching shut at the new complication in their investigation.

"I suggest we start again tomorrow," Uehara piped up softly, placing a gentle hand on Sato's shoulder. "The two of you need to get some rest. You have to be up in a few hours for that special assignment in the morning."

Sato made a soft frustrated whimper of a sound at the thought and stared at her watch. "We have to report in in four and a half hours," she muttered in tired frustration.

"Crash here then," Yamato said suddenly. From his desk chair, Takagi whirled around in surprise. "The rest of these videos still need to be watched. Uehara and I can work on that and get some sleep after you two take off. You can borrow the futon Uehara's been using."

"That sounds great," Sato replied with a tired smile, "You don't mind Uehara-san?"

"Of course not," she smiled. "I'm much too awake to sleep now."

Sato gave her a grateful smile in return. She leaned to the side to see Takagi around Uehara's side. "Is that all right with you, Takagi-kun?"

Takagi immediately flushed bright red all the way to the tips of his ears. "I-I-I… uhh… I mean… umm… …yes?" he finally stammered out. Sato gave him a bright smile and left to get her gym bag from her car. Takagi slumped over his desk and buried his burning face in his hands in embarrassment. He tried very hard to ignore Uehara's muffled snicker behind him.

* * *

Takagi and Sato both came to a stop outside the open door to conference room two. Instead of seeing the rest of Megure's task force for the heist sitting around the table, waiting for the pre-mission meeting to start, everyone was gathered around a television someone had confiscated from the a/v equipment room and pushed into the far-side corner of the room. Near the doorway, Megure was talking on the phone in an angry tight voice that he was struggling to keep fairly quiet.

From where he was standing among the group around the television, Shiratori looked up and locked eyes with them in the doorway. Silently, he beckoned them over. Sato led the way to the opposite end of the room, pushing in chairs that had been hastily pushed back from the table and left in the middle of their path on her way. Takagi caught Megure's eye for a moment between responses. The division chief balanced the phone between shoulder and ear and pointed at the door with a fierce expression. Takagi caught the hint and obediently shut the door. He gave a quick count of everyone in the room; he and Sato were the last to arrive. Giving Megure a last look for any further direction and finding none, he followed after Sato to the television.

Sato glanced up from her place standing next to Shiratori and repositioned herself so Takagi could look over her shoulder at the television. "What's happened?" he asked softly drawing up behind her.

"Look," she whispered back reaching down and taking hold of his hand.

Takagi entangled his fingers with hers and looked at the tv. The news was playing quietly so as not to disturb Megure's phone call and someone had thoughtfully turned on the closed captions. He read along, trying to catch up with everyone else in the room while the camera focused on the reporter from someplace downtown. The camera suddenly panned away to capture the blazing building across the street just as the windows of the top floor shattered and flames shot into the sky. Firemen on the street around the building covered their heads and crouched down to protect themselves from the rain of broken glass. The camera man jerked the camera angle back to the reporter which started bouncing and jerking as the reporter took advantage of the street cops' break in attention to get closer to the burning building. "That's where the heist was supposed to happen, isn't it?" he asked in a somber voice.

Shiratori spared him a quick look and a backwards glance at Megure still occupied with the phone. "Yes, it is. Megure-keibu's been on the phone with Nakamori-keibu since he called a half hour ago and told us to turn on the news," he said softly, trying to keep his voice to the two of them only. "The man has been going out of his mind ever since someone they interviewed, one of the guards to the embassy across the street, swore he saw a glider leave the scene."

"This happened across the street from an embassy_?_!" Takagi exclaimed at the same time Sato gave a soft gasp.

"Kid was on scene_?_!" she hissed, trying to keep her voice down. "Surely they don't think he caused this, do they_?_!"

"It's a building across the street from the American Embassy in Akasaka," Shiratori replied before turning to Sato. "Megure-keibu asked about that and I think Nakamori-keibu gave him an earful," he answered with a sympathetic wince sent Megure's way. "If I didn't know better, I'd think he's worried about that thief. Megure-keibu's been trying to calm him down ever since."

Sato arched an eyebrow at his last comment and crossed her arms over her chest with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Shiratori-kun, can you tell us exactly what this fake heist business was all about?" she asked as quietly as she could so as not to draw the attention of the other detectives around them.

Shiratori sighed and cast a fast look around the room to make sure everyone was focused on the television. With a hand gesture for them to follow him, he led them back to the opposite side of the room away from the detectives huddled around the tv. "I'm afraid I can't tell you what was planned, Megure-keibu and Nakamori-keibu have been playing this close to the chest," he told them in a hushed conspiratorial tone. Both Sato and Takagi bent closer in a private huddle. "He hasn't told me much more than what we learned at the meeting yesterday, but I can tell you this mission is completely off book. Neither he nor Nakamori-keibu have filed any paperwork on this or gone through any of the normal official channels concerning _anything_ about this one." Both Sato and Takagi stared at him wide-eyed and snuck furtive glances at Megure who was still engrossed in his phone conversation. "I've been trying to ask him about it, but he keeps dodging the subject."

"Do you have any idea _why_ this building in particular was being raided?" Sato asked. "If Kaitou Kid asked Nakamori-keibu and Megure-keibu to arrange all this, they must have been up to something illegal."

"Megure-keibu said the people involved were part of a high profile case he couldn't name," Takagi mused. "You don't think Megure-keibu meant the tower attack and was planning to investigate against direct orders_?_!"

Shiratori ran a frustrated hand through his hair and sighed. "I really have no idea."

"Well, I think we need to find out," Sato muttered.

Shiratori fixed them both with a firm eye. "Do you think it has something to do with what the two of you have been…"

"Excuse me!"

The three looked up, Takagi rather guiltily, at Megure's firm voice.

"Can I have everyone's attention!" the police inspector called out gruffly until everyone gathered around the television turned around. Megure stood up and held the phone muffled against his chest. "Obviously there is no longer going to be a heist today. I'd like to thank you all for showing up this morning but as of now, you are all dismissed."

A smattering of 'yes, sir's sounded around the room and the tight huddle around the tv wordlessly broke up. One of the last to leave, Chiba turned off the television and pushed the rolly cart it was sitting on out of the room. Megure returned to his phone call and completely missed the fact that Sato and Takagi along with Shiratori had stayed rooted to their spot along the wall while he went back to pleading with Nakamori that no, he should not drop everything to drive over to the fire site and start interrogating people. The three detectives waited patiently until Megure finally hung up after promises to meet and discuss the situation once they were both off duty for the day while gathering the stack of folders he'd been leaning on until then. He jumped and nearly dropped the paperwork when he noticed them patiently leaning against the wall.

"I thought I dismissed you all," he told them testily once he had recovered from his fright and after a decent display of near juggling trying to keep his folders from flying out of his hands.

"We need to speak with you about this 'heist'," Sato said briskly, pulling out a chair and sitting down next to the inspector. Following her lead, Takagi sat himself in a chair on Megure's other side while Shiratori took a post leaning against the wall, effectively blocking the door and exit. Megure cast them all a gruff glare at their obvious attempt to trap him in the room.

"This Kid case, it wouldn't have anything to do with the attack on Touto Tower, would it?" Sato started without preamble. "The case we were ordered _not_ to investigate."

Megure glared at her a few more seconds and gave a heavy sigh. Silently he slid one of the folders from his stack to her. He sent another one Takagi's way and held one out to Shiratori who left his wall to take the folder and pull a seat next to Takagi. "This doesn't leave the room," he warned and waited for their answering nods.

"Kido-kun spoke with Nakamori-kun and I that he had tracked down where two of the people involved in the attack could be found." He opened the topmost folder of his stack. "Page eight," he said quietly with a paranoid look to the door. The three detectives hurriedly found their place in the folders and studied the two pictures, one focused, one blurry, and the short description and aliases under each picture. "Kido-kun identified these two as _in_ the helicopter that night. This one he saw himself," he said pointing at the picture of the stout sunglass wearing man rather than garbling the name again. "And this other person," he continued pointing at the blurry long-haired man, "was identified by one of his 'sources'."

"Kaitou Kid has sources?" Sato asked in curiosity.

Megure sighed and checked the door again, Shiratori following his gaze out of habit. "I have reason to believe this source that identified the other… may be… Shinichi-kun," he said quietly.

"Kudo-kun is working with Kaitou Kid_?_!" Takagi asked with incredulity at the same time Sato spoke up.

"Kaitou Kid has a way to reach Kudo-kun_?_!" Sato exclaimed. "How_?_!"

Megure raised a hand to head off their questions. "I'm not sure how Kido-kun found him or what Shini… forgive me, Kudo-kun is up to, but I'm trusting Kudo-kun had his reasons." He cleared his throat conspicuously and turned to the first page, waiting for the others to catch up. "Kido-kun told us that this building is a front for those involved in the attack. His plan was to lead us to these suspects during the course of his heist," he continued, back on subject and pointing to the black three-story building in that page's picture. "Apparently this building houses a seemingly legitimate business that provides video surveillance and security to many of the embassies and fortune-five hundred companies in Minato. That means these people, whoever they are, have their fingers in a lot of pies." Sato and Takagi exchanged worried looks over his head. "It doesn't matter now, though. Whatever was in that building that might have been of use in apprehending these people just burned up in front of us."

He closed his folder and slammed it down on the stack with the rest. Shiratori silently handed his back along with Takagi. Sato tapped hers against the palm of her other hand. "Megure-keibu, would you mind if I hold onto this?" she asked carefully. Shiratori gave her an odd calculating look while Takagi looked at her sharply in surprise.

"I suppose, though I don't know what use it'll be to you now, Sato-kun," Megure sighed. "These two men from the helicopter have gone to ground by now." He pushed up from his seat and gathered his stack of folders together again. "You both should be enjoying your day off. Go home. There's not much we can do now. I'll let you know if Nakamori-kun and I come up with anything new. Shiratori-kun." Shiratori gave Sato a last questioning look and followed him out the door.

"Let's go," Sato said once the two inspectors had gone. "Yamato-keibu and Uehara-keiji need to read this." Takagi nodded and quietly followed after her. Before opening the door, she silently handed the folder to Takagi and with a nod of understanding, he slipped it inside his jacket, quite hidden from view, before they started for the car garage.

* * *

Yamato paused the video and scrubbed his tired eyes. Next to him, Uehara reached her arms over her head in a bone-popping stretch. "This is making me dizzy," he grumbled folding his arms on Takagi's desk and dropping his head onto them. Next to him, Uehara wordlessly picked up both of their coffee mugs and slipped into the kitchen for refills.

They had spent the last few hours watching NHK's aerial camera spin views of the city with only a quick pass of the top of the helicopter strafing the building, it's next pass was too high and missed being caught by the camera completely, and they were now halfway through Nichiuri TV's aerial camera when the incessant spinning finally necessitated a break. At least Nichiuri's camera didn't spin near as fast as NHK's. Yamato heaved a deep sigh realizing he still had the TV Tokyo camera feed to watch. Giving his eyes a last scrub, he unpaused the video and settled in for more spinning.

Uehara was just returning with more coffee when they heard someone's keys in the door. "Isn't it a little early for them to be back?" he asked in a low voice. They met each other's eyes and immediately reached for their side arms, Yamato pulling his from an ankle holster and Uehara hurriedly digging hers out of her purse on the couch. Uehara edged closer to the corner of the entrance hallway and living room, putting as much of the wall between herself and door as she could. Unable to move quickly, Yamato stayed where he was in plain view of the door and shifted in his chair to present a smaller target. They both had their guns trained on the door poised and ready for whoever came in.

First through the door, Takagi froze wide-eyed staring at the two gun muzzles pointed at him.

"Damn it! What are you two doing back_?_!" Yamato exclaimed in an angry voice dropping his gun to low ready. From her own place, Uehara pointed her own weapon down and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Takagi-kun, why are you just standing there?" Sato's voice grumbled from behind him. Taking advantage of her much smaller stature, she pushed her way between him and the doorframe, ducking under his arm. She gave Yamato and Uehara's exposed weapons a fleeting look and pushed her way into the hallway around Takagi.

"You're back early," Uehara said politely, ignoring her partner's earlier rude comment.

"You wouldn't believe the mess this turned out to be," Sato muttered walking past them to the kitchen with full intentions of getting herself a tall mug of coffee before explaining anything further. Flipping on the safety and tucking her gun in the waist of her pants at her back, Uehara followed after her, a tired Takagi trailing after them.

Yamato muttered several curses under his breath and returned his side arm to its holster firmly ignoring the two Beika-cho detectives that had just frightened the hell out of him. Tuning out the conversation from the kitchen, he grabbed his crutch and leaned on it while he shifted his stiff leg and repositioned himself back into his earlier slump in front of the computer. He blinked and stared at the monitor when he caught a quick movement on the screen out of the corner of his eye. He shot a hand out in reflex pausing the video not even particularly sure what he had seen that made him react.

Something about the paused screen nagged at him, something different. He bent close to the screen, trying to figure out what had changed. He frowned and smacked the side of the monitor when he noticed the thin black vertical lines crossing the video, almost invisible against the dark of night. When a few more increasingly firmer blows to the screen failed to fix the problem, he started backing up the toggle on the bottom of the screen marking the timeline of the video in small increments trying to find out if the lines would disappear.

Sure enough, as soon as he had backed up a few seconds worth of video time, the lines were gone. Curiosity peaked, he took a long sip of coffee and restarted the video. The camera spun slowly, shifting from a flat view of the metal beam it was anchored to and opening out into a profile view of the tower's side and the lights of Kamiya-cho in the distance. Suddenly, a blur of red and grayish-blue fell past the camera lens followed by the vertical black lines making their appearance. With a frown, he moved the toggle again to a time before the lines and shifted forward frame-by-frame the way Takagi had showed him.

In the slow-motioned effect of his manual advancing of the video, a curved red metal bowl shape with a black line down the middle came into view falling from somewhere higher on the tower. He stopped and studied the shape trying to figure out what it was. After a few seconds of study, he gave up and started advancing again.

The red and black object fell further and a thicker line of white or some color close to it in the color warping effect of night came into view attached to the red object. His mouth fell open as light colored cuffs and blue clothed what could only be arms followed the pale line. Fearing yet already knowing what he was about to see, he kept advancing. Sure enough, a pale nose and then glasses came into frame at the top of the screen and he was suddenly staring at Conan's determined face, his bangs blowing sharply upward as he fell at terminal velocity past the camera holding tight to the red object with two black lines streaming behind them from where they were attached to the red… thing.

"GET OVER HERE!" he yelled to the three still chatting in the kitchen. A clattering sounded from the kitchen as Sato, Takagi and Uehara put down their coffee and rushed out into the living room. Yamato backed up the video and set it to a slow crawling pace while the other three gathered behind him. In the slow jerking movement of slow motion, Conan fell past the camera again holding tight to the red object with a fierce determined look on his face and not a trace of fear. Uehara gasped aloud, fisting tight hold of Yamato's jacketed arm. Sato and Takagi solemnly watched the boy fall from over Yamato's shoulders. When he reached forward to pause the video Sato placed a restraining hand on his arm letting the video run. The black lines attached to the red object slowly moved from one side of the video to the other as the camera turned and just before they left the camera's view, the red object appeared again without Conan, this time moving from the bottom of the screen up. Takagi reached forward and paused the video.

"What the hell did we just see?" Yamato muttered in a stunned voice letting Takagi commandeer the mouse and back up the video to capture Conan once more holding the red object in mid-plunge.

"What camera is this?" Sato asked tensely.

"It's Nichiuri on the northwest side," Yamato answered.

"How far off the ground is this camera?" she demanded, turning to Takagi when Yamato gave her a dull shrug.

"I-I would guess… somewhere around… three hundred meters?" he stammered under her sharp glare.

"That's near the top of the Special Observatory_?_!" Sato exclaimed. "Conan-kun jumped from the top of the tower_?_!"

"Are you sure he didn't fall or maybe was pushed?" Yamato asked shaking himself from his stupor.

"Did you see the look on his face_?_!" Sato gestured with a hand to the fierce look on Conan's frozen face. "He knows exactly what he's doing and I have a good idea what it is! Takagi-kun, let it run at normal speed!"

With a quiet gulp at the angry tone of her voice, Takagi bent forward and started the video again. Conan's body whipped past the camera at break-neck speed and the black lines attached to the red object they now noticed thinning and stretching under the weight of Conan's body. They gradually slowed their trembling and then began moving again, increasing speed until the red object whipped past the camera at a much faster rate than Conan had fallen. The black lines disappeared from view. Within seconds, the wounded helicopter crossed the camera's view trailing smoke at the beginning of its death dive over Roppongi-cho.

"Did Conan-kun…" Uehara started hesitantly.

"He launched something at the helicopter," Sato replied decisively, crossing her arms over her chest. "He's the one that brought that helicopter down." She gave Takagi a firm look asking confirmation of her theory, which, after a quick mulling over with his familiarity of Conan's methods, he returned with a firm nod of his own.

"By jumping off the top of Touto Tower_?_!" Yamato almost yelled, "Are you crazy_?_! Is he_?_! It's suicidal! What is wrong with you people_?_!"

Uehara slowly pulled her hands down from covering her mouth, forcing her gaze away from the screen. "If… little Conan-kun is the one who wrecked that helicopter… These people are obviously incredibly powerful. They'll come looking for him. They'll come looking for him!" she cried taking hold of her partner's arms and looking between Takagi and Sato with a desperate fearful look.

"I know," Sato answered her with a calm calculating expression. "This order to unseal the identities of the minors involved. It's them. They're trying to find out exactly this… who attacked them."

"This is probably why Kudo-kun fabricated his story that he was the one chased. To protect Conan-kun," Takagi concluded, following Sato's pacing with his eyes. "We need to find him."

"This is all crazy," Yamato muttered under his breath, dropping his head into his hands.

Sato nodded to her partner, unfazed by Yamato's comment. "Lets go. I want him here, where we can protect him. Now!"

* * *

Sato leaned against the wall next to the door of the Mouri Detective Agency with a heavy sigh and ran a frustrated hand through her hair while Takagi read the scratchy scrawl on the piece of notebook paper taped in the window.

After knocking on the third floor door for almost ten minutes, it was clear no one was home. Calling Ran had only earned them a statement on the cell phone screen that her phone was out of signal range and Kogoro's phone went straight to voice mail, most likely turned off.

"It says he's on a case in Chiba," Takagi said lamely, straightening to stand next to her and wait for her decision of what to do next. "Were you able to reach Kudo-kun?"

"No, his phone's off," she muttered, bringing a hand up to chew on one of her nails. "Where else would he be?"

"He might be well enough for school," Takagi suggested, thinking hard. "If not, he may be at Agasa-hakase's home." Sato gave a nod and pushed off the wall leading the way to her car.

/

The two walked briskly down the sidewalk in front of Agasa's house. Conan's school had turned up nothing. His class's attendance roster had shown him marked absent and double-checking through the glass window on the door of his classroom had confirmed it. They now stood, waiting for Agasa to open the door, and hoping they had finally caught up with the elusive boy.

"Aah, Sato-keiji, Takagi-keiji," the older man smiled kindly to the two detectives. "What can I do for you?"

"Aaa… well…"

"Is Conan-kun here?" Sato asked, cutting off her partner and giving Agasa a firm, cross, cop-look.

"Sh-uh-Conan-kun?" Agasa repeated hesitantly, his eyes shifting nervously while he scrambled to think of an answer.

"**Is** he **here**?" Sato asked again, pressing the man for an immediate answer.

"Agasa-hakase, it's very important that we find him right away," Takagi spoke up placatingly, hands raised and palms out in a calming gesture after Sato's forward questioning. "Conan-kun might be in trouble and we need to find him as soon as possible."

"Has something happened?" the professor asked in a low conspiratorial voice. "Is he alright?"

"Hopefully not," Sato said curtly, "but the sooner we find him the better. I take it he's not here."

"I'm sorry, Sato-keiji. I haven't seen him in several days," he sighed, "When I spoke with Ran-kun a few days ago, she told me he was very sick and that he was not to leave the house. She made it sound like he was also in a bit of trouble over his behavior."

"You're sure he's not here, possibly hiding for any reason?" Sato asked again sharply. Agasa shook his head looking quite a bit worried himself. "Okay. Thanks for your help." She started back to the car without waiting for the older man's response. Takagi followed after her giving him an embarrassed apologetic goodbye over his shoulder.

"Where else could he be?" she asked him with a puzzled look on her face, waiting for him to close the car door and pull on his seatbelt.

"Should we try Ran-san's school and ask her?" Takagi asked, grasping at straws.

"I don't see where else we can try," she sighed, starting her car. "Let's hope this one pans out."

/

Sato gave an exasperated sigh and angrily kicked the tire by the driver's side door. Takagi watched her cautiously from his side of the car, wary of her deteriorating temper. "…I-I guess it's not likely she took him with her," he said carefully. She gave him an annoyed glare and he shut his mouth quickly.

"Where else? Where are we not looking?" she muttered leaning an arm on the Mazda's roof and casting her angry glare over the high school parking lot.

"…you don't think one of… _them_ found him?" Takagi asked hesitantly.

"Don't even _think_ that!" Sato ordered with an alarmed glare. "If that's true he's already dead. We are _not_ going there. Think! Where else can we look?"

Takagi frowned and thought hard, folding his arms over the top of the car and studying the water spots on the car top from the city's last rainstorm. "Maybe Genta-kun or Mitsuhiko-kun or Ayumi-chan's house?" he mused. "If Conan-kun were in trouble, they wouldn't hesitate to help him."

"If not one of _their_ homes they may know a place he could hide," Sato added catching his eye. "Those kids _are_ awfully resourceful."

"Sonoko-san's family is also pretty close to them. And we haven't asked Kisaki Eri-san yet," Takagi continued.

"We'll cover this faster if we split up," Sato said, feeling energized once they had come up with more options. "I'll drop you off at your car."

"I'll take the Shonen Tantei and Eri-san," Takagi said, opening his door. "Sonoko's family estate is all the way in Haido-cho so it'll be faster if we split things this way," he finished quickly seeing the protest rising in her eyes.

"Are you sure?" she asked dubiously, unsure over the uneven split in their workload.

"Sato-san, you don't know where they live," he reminded her gently.

"Alright, fine," she replied giving in. "Lets hurry. I don't think I'll relax until we find him."

/

Sato sighed scrolling down her cell's address book, trying to find someone, anyone, in her list who knew the Mouri's well enough to possibly provide a safe harbor Conan could have disappeared to. The Suzuki's had been a bust and she wasn't holding much hope for Takagi's success either. It was starting to look like Conan truly was missing.

She passed up Kudo's number; she hadn't had any luck with his number so far and she felt the trend was likely to continue. She _did_ stop when the cursor fell on the name Hattori Heiji. It was a long shot but by now she was ready to resort to anything.

She pressed the dial button and waited for the teen to answer.

"_Hello?_" a hesitant voice answered, no doubt cautious answering a call from an unfamiliar number.

"Hattori-kun, this is Detective Sato from the Beika Police Department," she spoke crisply. "I apologize for calling you during school hours but I need to ask you a few questions."

"_Ah, Sato-keiji. It's okay, I've actually just gotten home. W-What can I do for ya?_" Heiji asked sounding truly confused.

"Is Conan-kun staying with you?" Sato asked crisply.

"_Ah… yes?_" Heiji answered with an inward curse to the absent Kudo for drawing him into a mess without giving him proper warning.

"Put him on the line, I need to speak to him immediately," Sato ordered.

"_K-Conan-kun?_" Heiji cringed at where the conversation was heading. "_Ah… he's out? …He's out… running to the convenience store_," he finally said decisively.

"When will he be back?" Sato asked curtly.

"…_soon?_"

"Hattori-kun, are you covering up for him?" she asked directly, cutting through his hesitation.

"_W-Why would I do something like that?_" he stammered.

Across the line, Sato gave a frustrated sigh. "We have tried everywhere we can possibly think of and we haven't been able to find him all morning! We believe he may be in trouble and that some dangerous people may be looking for him. This is a matter of urgency!" she all but yelled into the phone she was holding with shaking hands. "**Do or do you not have Conan-kun with you?**" Sato asked with angry finality, firmly overriding whatever he had been planning to say.

"…_no, he's not here_," Heiji finally answered in somber seriousness. Sato gave an angry frustrated sigh and slumped against the door of her car. "_Who do ya think is after him?_"

Sato cast a sweeping look around the trees and thick bushes decorating the Suzuki mansion's expansive driveway and lawn, blocking her view of any unwanted listeners nearby. "I'm afraid I can't discuss that," she said curtly, forcing her professionalism back into her voice in an attempt to control the fear that clenched her when she imagined what could have happened if someone had figured out what they had about the child.

"_If I find him for you, will you tell me why you think Conan-kun is in trouble?_" Heiji finally asked.

Sato hesitated only a moment before placing her trust in the young detective friend of the Mouri's and Kudo. "I'll phone ahead and have your ticket ready and waiting for you at the Shinkansen," she said hurriedly, digging through her purse for a credit card. "I'll pick you up at Tokyo Station."

"_Got it. On my way_," Heiji replied and quickly hung up.

* * *

Heiji hitched his backpack higher on his shoulder and looked around the busy train station nervously. It was only the second time he had visited Tokyo without the intent of seeking out the Mouri family and certainly the first time to do so alone. It felt like he was sneaking around behind Kudo's back. But if the shrunken detective truly was in trouble and hadn't told him, '_I'll hit him,_' Heiji decided with a decisive nod to himself. '_I'll hit him good and hard._'

"Hattori-kun!"

He paused, searching for the detective in the thick crowds of Tokyo Station. His gaze finally fell on a woman in a lavender skirt-suit pushing her way through the departing crowds to where he was still standing only a few meters from the door forcing the river of people to part around him. Detective Sato gratefully accepted the hand he reached out to pull her through the last few feet of crowd. She bent over, hands on knees, catching her breath from fighting her way upstream.

"Keiji-han, are you okay?" he asked, noting her subtle sweep of the people around them.

"Perfect," she muttered, giving a last baleful glare at the crowd and smoothing down her jacket.

Heiji gave a quick nod and waited for her focus to return to him. "What did ya mean about Conan-kun being in trouble?" he asked without preamble once she turned back to him.

Sato brought a quick finger up to her lips. "If you don't mind, I'd prefer to explain things someplace less public," she said with a firmness that made Heiji give the station platform a fast sweeping for anyone that would make Sato nervous. "Follow me," she ordered, diving back into the crowds and forcing Heiji to follow closely before he lost sight of her.

/

"I've called you here in the middle of the school week," Sato said apologetically to her passenger while she smoothly pulled out of the station's parking lot. "I'll write you an excuse for however long it takes you to find Conan-kun."

"You're figuring… it might take a while?" Heiji asked hesitantly from the front passenger's seat, silently studying her tense posture and white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel. Sato didn't answer but her worried frown spoke for her. "Where have you looked?"

"Mouri-san's, Agasa-hakase's, his school, Ran-chan's school… Takagi-kun is checking with the families of his friends and Eri-san… he won't answer his phone… I don't know where else to look," she told him honestly.

Heiji gave her a long serious look absorbing the realization that Kudo really may be in serious trouble. "Did Mouri-han file a missing person report with Megure-keibu?" he asked, probing for a starting place.

"Mouri-san is out of town on a case and the police department knows nothing about this and they're not going to," she told him firmly. "This is a private investigation and it needs to stay that way. No one else needs to know about Conan-kun being missing. We just need to find him as soon as possible without alerting anyone at the station."

Heiji raised an eyebrow. "Why the secrecy, keiji-han?" he asked, leaning an elbow on the car door. "I'd think Megure-keibu would want to know if something had happened to the kid."

Sato gave him a sharp searching look before returning her gaze to the road. "The police department can't be trusted," she finally said with a frown ignoring Heiji's wide-eyed stare. "We think… we_ know_ there's a mole, several actually, in the department. Some of them in high places."

"Things are… pretty serious?" he asked letting his question hang.

"You are here to find Conan-kun and nothing else," she said in strict warning. "I can't let you get involved any deeper. It would be too dangerous."

Heiji stared hard at the unnerved detective. "What's really going on?" he asked in a quiet demand. Sato stubbornly kept her eyes on the road and took the turnoff into Takagi's neighborhood. "Sato-keiji please, tell me what's happening!"

"I can do better," she muttered hitting the brakes sharply and throwing an unprepared Heiji against the dashboard while she pulled to a stop in Takagi's parking lot. "I can show you," she finished, exiting the car leaving him to scramble out of the car after her.

Sato came upon Yamato and Uehara on the couch, hands frozen over their side arms, in the middle of looking through one of the yearbooks. At her calm nod they both relaxed. Trailing after her, Heiji shut the door behind him and closed in behind Sato. "Ah! Yamato-han!" he cried recognizing the gruff detective. "You're here too?"

"He's here to find Conan-kun for us," Sato muttered to the two Nagano detectives when they gave her an alarmed look. "Don't worry, he's trustworthy. He's a good friend of Kudo-kun and the Mouri family."

"We've met," Yamato replied cautiously, reaching out to shake Heiji's outstretched hand.

"Have you heard from Takagi-kun?" Sato asked, maneuvering Heiji out of her way so she could ask him directly.

"Yes, he said to tell you he found nothing from Eri-san's, the Tsubaraya's, the Yoshida's or the Kojima's and he was waiting for school to let out so he could ask the kids directly," Yamato replied in a distracted voice going back to hunting through pages. Next to him, Uehara caught Sato's eyes and motioned behind her. Sato turned around and silently watched an absorbed Heiji walking back and forth in front of the web chart on Takagi's wall, reading his way through their investigation. Sato gave an internal nod of approval seeing that Yamato and Uehara had added the information they had confirmed from the tower security videos. After an elbowing from Uehara, Yamato looked up from the book and joined the two women watching the young Osakan.

At the wall, Heiji read each page tacked on the wall, following the web lines, his frown deepening each time he came across Conan's name implicating him as a witness or harboring information about the man who had been killed at the tower, most of such mentions with the word 'confirmed' scrawled on the side. He stopped and stared at what must have been a newly added page overlapping some of the older pages confirming Kudo Shinichi as not present during the attack and possibly covering for Conan. It was at that moment that he finally felt the eyes on his back and slowly turned around to face the three detectives.

"Ya said you could show me what's been going on," he said, his face completely expressionless with only his spasmodic clenching of the shoulder strap of his backpack betraying his emotions.

"Yamato-san, do you think you can show him the video footage?" Sato asked quietly, trusting his familiarity with working Takagi's computer over her own abilities.

"Are you sure that's wise?" he asked gruffly, giving Heiji an unreadable look. Heiji glared back, feeling his detective skills and trustworthiness being called into question.

"Conan-kun is his friend," Sato answered back catching Heiji's eyes and holding his gaze until he understood the weight of the information they would be giving him. She waited until she saw his understanding and determination before turning back to Yamato. "He needs to know what we're up against."

Yamato gave a tired sigh giving in and hefted himself off the couch, putting his arm through his crutch and motioning Heiji to follow him to the computer. Heiji dropped his backpack into a corner against one of Takagi's speakers and wall and followed after the man.

/

Sato and Uehara stood behind Heiji, silently observing his stiff posture and the shaking fists he had buried into his knees while he watched the slowed down footage of Conan's suicidal plunge from the top of Touto Tower. She waited until after the helicopter took its smoking dive across the screen to place a calming hand on his shoulder. "You didn't know," she said simply.

Heiji sat back, equal parts furious… and horrified. Kudo had completely glossed over everything that had happened that night in their phone conversation the next day. '_I'll kill 'im!_' he fumed dropping his chin into his laced fingers on the desk to disguise their shaking. '_He and 'Neechan got a little hurt, my ass! I'm gonna kill him!_'

Sato knelt next to him and took hold of his wrist, dragging his attention away from his anger and back to her. "Hattori-kun," she began gently, trying to make sure he was paying full attention, "we think these people in the helicopter are trying to find out who attacked them." With that statement, his attention was locked on her. "They've infiltrated the police department in Beika, in very high positions. Megure-keibu's been asked to unseal the identities of the minors involved in the attack, we may not have much time before that happens and they'll know Ran-chan, Conan-kun, and supposedly Kudo-kun were there." Heiji's eyes went wide in fear; he grabbed tight to Sato's wrist with his free hand. "As of right now," Sato continued quickly before he could start asking questions, "only the people in this room and Takagi-kun know that it was Conan-kun who they chased and who found a way to bring down their helicopter. The official sealed records name Kudo-kun, but if anyone finds out what we know…"

"…they'll kill him and 'Neechan," Heiji finished, swallowing hard. "When will the records be unsealed?" he asked, forcing his terror down with the distraction of his upcoming search.

"I asked Shiratori-kun to delay as long as possible but we'll be lucky if it's a week," Sato answered. "I imagine Kudo-kun will be in a great deal of danger soon and we haven't been able to confirm he got our message."

"Don't worry about Kudo," Heiji answered, releasing his death grip on her arm and straightening in his chair. "I'll make sure he gets the message. What are ya gonna do when I find Conan-kun?" he asked giving her and Uehara a bold stare back.

"If it looks like these people plan to go after the kid and Ran-san, Uehara and I will be taking them into protective custody," Yamato spoke up from Heiji's other side. "Off book if we need to."

Heiji gave them all a serious look while he debated with himself. "…If it looks like _they_ are gonna go after 'Neechan and Conan-kun… you'll need to be ready to take Mouri-han, his wife, and maybe even Agasa-han and the families of Conan-kun's friends too," he finally said and braced himself for what he knew was coming.

Sato's wide-eyed stare quickly became a glare and Uehara next to her narrowed her own eyes at him. Yamato grabbed his shoulder and roughly yanked him around. "**You **_**know**_** about these bastards**_**?**_**!**" he yelled angrily, half pulling the teenager out of his seat by the front of his school uniform.

Sato rose just as quickly, "Hattori-kun, is that true_?_!" she demanded grabbing her own bit of his uniform and forcing him to look at her.

Heiji met her glare coolly. "When I find Conan-kun for ya, I'll answer whatever you want. But if you're right about them looking for whoever attacked them at the tower, we don't have time ta argue."

Sato held her glare on him for a few more minutes and finally let go of him. "Let him go, Yamato-keibu," she muttered. Yamato let go of the young detective and sat back in his chair with an exasperated sigh. "You're right, finding Conan-kun is our first imperative. But Hattori-kun, you'd better be ready to explain yourself," she warned angrily. Heiji nodded warily and stood up to collect his backpack, trying his best to ignore Yamato's intimidating glare.

"I swear, I'll find him," he promised giving them all an apologetic bow. Sato watched him go, staying quiet until he had closed the door behind him.

"Uehara-san."

"Uehara."

Sato quieted, letting Yamato speak first. "Tail him," he finished, looking to Sato and seeing the firm agreement on her face. Sato met Yamato's suspicious gaze not a bit surprised he'd had the same thought.

"Yes, sir," she replied, quickly gathering her purse and sunglasses from the kitchen.

"I'm coming with you," Sato added, hurriedly grabbing her own things. "I'm sorry I'm leaving you here alone," she said to Yamato.

"It's fine. I'll fill in your partner when he gets back," he said waving her off. "Don't lose him."

"We won't," Uehara replied firmly following Sato out the door.

* * *

"AGASA-HAN! AGASA-HAN!"

The elderly man rushed to the front door and gave the young girl he passed reading the latest copy of Vogue on the couch a sour look for ignoring the door. He hurriedly opened the door before the young man on his front stoop could knock it down with the way he was pounding. "Hattori-kun! What are you doing? Are you trying to break my door_?_!" he demanded a little more harshly than his usual jovial tone after running from his basement lab to answer the door.

"Sorry Agasa-han, it's an emergency," Heiji muttered pushing past the inventor into the house. "I need the spare glasses."

"Spare glasses? Did something happen?" he asked closing the door and following the frantic Osakan who was opening the drawers of any piece of furniture with a drawer to open in his living room.

"I gotta find Kudo!" he muttered, letting his pack fall to the floor with a shrug of his shoulder and abandoning it there to move on to a fresh piece of furniture, the desk Ai had claimed for her own, to ransack.

"They're downstairs next to my computer," Ai said dispassionately without looking up from her magazine.

Heiji blinked, finally noticing her for the first time and looked her up and down lying calmly on the couch in her pajamas. "Did ya skip school or something?" he asked, standing still for the first time since he arrived.

"I'm taking a mental health day," she answered, turning a page, and with an air of someone being bothered needlessly.

"Ai-kun's class was supposed to give an oral report on a member of their family today. She insisted on staying home," Agasa whispered to him. Heiji gave a nod of understanding and gave her a wide berth on his way to Agasa's basement stairs. "Did something happen with Shinichi?" he asked followed after the young detective.

"Yeah. He's missing," Heiji muttered snatching the glasses off the desk and activating the homing device. Not seeing anything, he widened the zoom resolution on the lens until he had a citywide range. Weakly and quite intermittently Conan's glasses gave an occasional ping from somewhere in the downtown district. Heiji frowned studying the weak signal. "Looks like he's downtown," he muttered a bit calmer now that he knew where Kudo was. Next to him Agasa gave a sigh of relief. "I'll be back after I find him," he said to the worried man.

Agasa followed him back up the stairs. "Hattori-kun, hold on a second," he called after the teen. He bustled past the young detective into the kitchen and came back, holding a key out to Heiji. "In case Ai-kun and I are out running errands when you get back."

"Thanks Agasa-han," Heiji said with a grateful smile. He didn't waste a second more, running for the door with Conan's spare glasses leading the way.

/

Whatever hopeful feelings that had carried him thus far fled as he felt his hope plummet into the bottom of his stomach while he elbowed his way into the crowd of onlookers surrounding the burned out shell of a building. A few weak trails of smoke still rose from the wreckage from areas still smoldering. Keeping a wary eye on the officers on guard who were busy trying to keep the more ambitious reporters and cameramen on their side of the police tape, he ducked under the barrier and slipped around a fire truck for cover.

From the shadows of the vehicles, he quietly observed the firemen collecting their equipment and repacking hoses. Still daring to hope, he approached a cluster of ambulances, hoping to find the missing Kudo being patched up along with the few firemen injured in the blaze.

"Hey, kid! What are you doing_?_! How did you get in here_?_!"

Heiji cringed caught out in the open on his way to the next ambulance. He didn't even need to look to know officers were closing in on him from all sides from the crunching of footsteps on the asphalt around him nor how damning he must look sneaking around the accident scene. He had just enough time to shove the glasses in his pocket when he was surrounded by police officers with their batons out and ready. He raised his hands in the air while the grim angry police officers glared at him for a few scant seconds before a tall burly man approached them blinking in recognition. "Hey, aren't you that little detective friend of Mouri-kun?" he asked in surprise.

Heiji's eyes widened in recognition of the older man and he studiously ignored his patronizing comment. "Y-Yuminaga-keibu!" he answered in surprise. Around him, the rest of the arson division police gave him a few dirty looks for drawing them away from their posts needlessly while they broke up and walked away from him.

"Here investigating for that layabout, are you? You should have said so from the start!" the jovial man said giving Heiji a heavy clap on the back that made him stumble.

"Uh… yes! Yes, I was hoping ta check out a few things for him," Heiji lied. "Is it alright if I look around?"

"I'm betting if I tell you no and that civilians should leave this to the police, that dunce will come try to look around himself, screwing up my crime scene," Yuminaga mused. "Fine, just stay close to me," he muttered turning on his heel and walking back to the building. Following behind him, and using the large man's back for cover, he pulled out the glasses and narrowed the zoom. A chill ran down his spine as he watched the weak signal align directly in front of him as he followed the arson inspector to the burned building.

"A-Are ya thinking this building is an arson case?" Heiji asked in an attempt to distract himself from his dark suspicions, tucking the glasses up the sleeve of his gakuran.

"Not sure yet. It's still too early to tell," Yuminaga replied over his shoulder. "But there _are_ a few things I found strange." He paused to wait for Heiji to carefully climb through the broken glass door without touching anything for balance. Heiji found himself carefully stepping over a floor covered with broken, partially burned rectangular ceiling tiles that were inclined to slide underfoot from the flood of water on the floor from the fire hoses. He cast an appraising eye around the first floor.

The entire floor, from ceiling to walls, had been consumed by the fire down to the concrete brick building frame. Not a foot of drywall had survived along with most of the two-by-fours of the interior walls. The ceiling was sagging heavily where it hadn't broken and had left mounds of building debris under holes several feet wide where it had. "Keibu-han, can you tell me what ya found so far?" Heiji asked.

Yuminaga gave a nod and started carefully crossing the room leading the way with his flashlight. "From what the guards in the guardhouse next door told us, the fire started on the third floor. We're almost sure it traveled between the walls to reach the second and first floors. We haven't tested yet but there's no scent of an accelerant. We got our dog unit coming within the hour to check for sure, but most of my men are putting money down on electrical," he grumbled leading Heiji to the concrete emergency stairwell, mostly unaffected by the fire.

"If ya think it was an electrical fire, why are ya investigating this as an arson?" Heiji asked, picking his way through the burned out mess after the inspector with the weaker light of the small flashlight on his key chain.

"For one thing, this building was equipped with a sprinkler system but it never activated. Same goes for the fire-alarm. It was actually a building next door's alarm that was triggered," the man said leading them both up the stairs. "I've already had one of my officers check and this building passed all its inspections this year and there's just no way that's possible from what we've seen so far. We've also found the make-up of the third floor to be unusual. For one thing, the walls are twice as thick as the bottom two floors."

He pulled open the door to the second floor and stepped aside to let Heiji look in from the doorway. "The floor's unstable so no further than the doorway," he warned. Heiji peered into the room and gaped as he looked up to the ceiling two floors above him. The third floor's floor had collapsed onto the second floor in a chaotic tumble of pipes, ductwork, and the remains of charred furniture and support beams. A thin rim of floor remained, ringing the walls a good four meters above his head denoting the third floor/second floor division. He understood now why the first floor ceiling was sagging so much.

"Yuminaga-keibu, Kinoshita-keiji and Chiyo are here and ready to start their inspection," one of the detectives called from the bottom of the stairwell.

"Duty calls," Yuminaga said giving Heiji another one of his heavy claps on the shoulder. "Look as much as you need to, but stick to the stairs. And if that fool of a detective turns up anything I need to know in this investigation of his, tell him to let me know."

"Of course, keibu-han," Heiji answered good-naturedly and waited for the man to turn the corner in the stairs to rub his aching shoulder. As soon as he heard the door downstairs close, he pulled out the glasses from his sleeve and gave the room a grim sigh. The signal from Kudo's glasses was undeniably coming from somewhere in the room, almost the center of the room in fact from the look of it. He fought down the adrenalin-fueled surge of panic. He refused to continue the thought that Kudo had been somehow involved in the blaze. But the signal from Kudo's glasses…

He took a deep breath to work up his nerve and stepped out onto the strained floor, conscious he could very well bring two floor's worth of debris onto the unsuspecting detectives below. The floor felt stable enough, but his nerves finally got to him and he dropped down to a crawl to distribute his weight while he made his way to the suspect pile of debris. By the time he made it to the center of the room, the floor was making slight creaking sounds and he had dropped to a belly crawl. Carefully he dug into the pile moving objects as gently as he could. In a pocket of space under a collapsed air conditioning duct, he found the heat twisted pair of black glasses.

His eyes teared up as he picked up the precious pair of glasses and dropped his forehead against the palm of his hand holding them tightly. '_Kudo… ya weren't here, I_ know_ ya weren't here when this building collapsed! There's no way!_'

Indistinct sounds of a downstairs conversation began to filter up the stairs and he shoved the two pairs of glasses down the front of his gakuran. His attempt to wipe away his tears only spread soot across his face and irritated his eyes more leaving him to crawl his way back to the stairs with blurry watery vision. He was shakily rubbing at his eyes from his spot sitting against the doorway when Yuminaga and another officer leading a beagle came up the stairs.

"You okay kid?" Yuminaga asked. Heiji was glad for the pitch darkness that kept the inspector from seeing the telling soot that must have been covering the front of his darkly colored school uniform. But confronted by the two men bending over him in concern, his frayed nerves finally got the best of him. He roughly pushed himself up and shot down the stairs away from them, desperate to leave the dead building behind. Several of the arson department detectives looked up in surprise watching him flee the building, miraculously making it across the slippery floor and out the door before anyone could stop him.

He didn't stop until he turned into an alley a block away and pulled out his cell phone, dialing Kudo's private number with one hand while pulling out the damaged dirty glasses from his uniform. The phone went straight to voice mail and he hung up and dialed Conan's phone without missing a beat. Once more, the phone went straight to voice mail after a few rings and he hung up angrily giving a nearby dumpster a hard kick.

The unforgiving metal gave a muted 'dong' sound and his toes hurt but he kicked the dumpster in frustrated anger again anyway… and again, and again. '_Damn it, Kudo, you… you… Bastard!' _He was gearing up for a fifth kick when his cell rang. "Yeah, what!" he answered rudely without checking who it was. If it was Kudo, he was going to rip him a new one.

"…_H-Hattori-kun… I'm sorry, is this a bad time?_" Ran's meek voice returned hesitantly.

"… 'N-Neechan…" He sank back against the brick wall of the building opposite the innocent metal recipient of his rage. His anger drained in an instant and he slipped to the ground staring down at his hand, trembling and still holding tight to the fire damaged, so horribly small, pair of glasses that were still glaringly missing their owner. "I-I'm sorry… I…" His voice fell away as he came to the dawning realization that he had no idea what to say to her at that moment, no idea what he _could_ say to her.

"_Umm… I just wanted to let you know my class is already on its way back, we should be back in around four hours. Can I speak to Conan-kun?_"

Heiji swallowed hard, his heart suddenly hammering in his throat while his thoughts panicked in a racing scramble at how he was going to respond to that. "He's… he…" '_...not here… gone, he's gone,_' his inner mantra repeated in his mind.

"_Is he not there?_" she continued when he lapsed into silence. Heiji opened his mouth to answer but again, nothing came out. "_I hope you didn't let him go run around with his friends. He's supposed to be grounded and if he didn't tell you that, tell him I'll be adding another week if he thought he could get away with hiding things and doing anything behind your back._"

"Right," he answered in a dull voice.

"_Hattori-kun, are you alright? You don't sound very well_," she asked in gentle concern, "_You didn't catch Conan-kun's illness, did you?_"

"No, no I'm fine," he lied through his teeth. "Things are fine, everything's… fine." He cast his eyes around, desperate for an idea. His eyes fell on his omamori swinging from his phone. "The thing is," he continued, "a case came up, so I had to come back home. Conan-kun was still feeling sick so I brought him with me. He would've been missing school anyway, right?" he finished with as much false cheer as he could muster under the circumstances… which bordered between miniscule and just pure shaking.

"_Ah! You didn't have to go so out of your way, Hattori-kun. We didn't mean to trouble you while you're on a case_," Ran protested.

"No trouble, it's no trouble," he answered in a fast tumble. "But I need to get back to my case so I'll call you back later."

"_No wai…_"

"Bye, 'Neechan," he finished and quickly cut the line, jamming the phone back in his pocket. That left him back to staring at the glasses in his hand. And his memory took him right back to where he did _not_ want to go; searching his memory for any signs of a burned body in the wreckage he had dug the glasses out of.

Squashing his train of thought with a ruthless iron will, he pushed himself up from the ground and cast a wary look out of the alley in case his dash from the scene of a possible arson case had any cops looking for him. But all attention of anyone out on the street was focused on the building and the slew of reporters surrounding it, many of the younger onlookers busy trying to get themselves into the background of a television shot and keeping any police on duty just as busy trying to keep the chaos to a minimum. Not sure what to do next, he took off back to Agasa's turning his cap to shadow his face and clutching Conan's glasses tightly for dear life.

* * *

Ai looked up from her magazine raising an eyebrow in mild interest seeing the Osakan detective arrive, alone and covered in soot from head to toe, slamming the front door behind him. Without a word, she put down her magazine and slipped off the couch to approach him where he was still standing, leaning against the door, one hand holding something she couldn't identify against his chest and the other hand covering his mouth while he stared into space. "You didn't find him," she said matter-of-factly, standing directly in front of him and waiting for his absent gaze to drop down to her level.

Heiji silently opened his hands and showed her the twisted frames. Her eyes narrowed in response flicking back up to study his lost expression. Giving a small huff, she breezed past him into the kitchen, Heiji following after on autopilot. "…There… was a fire in Akasaka. I found these on the second floor under debris from the third floor collapse, they were buried. I didn't have time ta look for a… for his body," he told her, the words tumbling out faster and faster even though Ai seemed to be hardly listening, dragging a stool to the pantry cupboard. He leaned against the counter watching her pour two drinks. "I should have come sooner," he muttered, still holding his one-sided conversation with her back. "As soon as I heard him sound funny on the phone two weeks ago, I should have come straight here and helped him!"

Ai gave him a side-long look, walking past him back to the living room with the two glasses she had poured.

"Why_!_? Why didn't he tell me something was still up_!_? He's always trying to do things on his own! He promised me! I knew… I knew something was up with that mahjong case and he promised me!" Heiji hurled the fire-melted glasses at the nearest wall of Agasa's living room vehemently. The lenses shattered instantly and a dark smudge of soot stained the wall. "Fucking Kudo! Why can't ya let people help you so you don't get…" He sucked his breath in sharply before he could finish, overcome by a foreboding feeling of a jinx or curse hanging like a looming shadow over him if he dared say the actual word.

"Here." Ai muttered, shoving a sifter of dark amber colored liquid in his hands before settling herself on the low coffee table with a glass of her own and taking a long hard drink.

"I'm underage," were the soft words that lamely fell from Heiji's lips as he stared at the glass he was holding as though he was surprised it was there.

"Drink it," Ai ordered. "I am _not_ dealing with your histrionics when we have a missing Kudo-kun to find."

Heiji hesitated only long enough to catch her steely gaze and obediently downed the alcohol. It burned horribly down his throat. He followed Ai's head tilt towards Agasa's computer and pulled the rolling chair closer and sat reversed on it facing her glumly.

"He's pulled a disappearing act on us, hasn't he?" Ai spoke quietly staring at Heiji with intent eyes.

Heiji dropped his head on his arms over the back of the chair sagging against it while his leg hopped madly in agitation belying his weariness. "…yeah," he answered softly. "I don't know what to do next. I have no idea if he made it out of that building… or if he did, where to look… or if _they_ finally caught…"

"If they had, this place and Mouri-san's would already be ash." Haibara cut him off quickly. "Besides, we both know he's too stubborn to die easy."

"Right," Heiji answered, the corner of his mouth rising wryly despite his depression.

"That can only mean one of two things," Ai mused over another sip. Heiji couldn't help the rise of his eyebrow at her lack of reaction to the liquid fire. "He was obviously at the building so either he escaped and is hiding, or he was injured in the fire. In either case, it doesn't seem he can contact us."

"If he was just hiding, he'd answer," Heiji muttered from the folds of his arms.

"You said the building was in Akasaka," Ai said to herself quietly. Putting down her almost finished drink, she advanced on Heiji who watched her nervously until it became clear to him, after a pointed glare from her, that she wanted him to move so she could reach the computer.

He rolled back to give her room, considerably calmer, watching over her shoulder while she started checking the local news stations' websites for updates on the fire. She gave a soft gasp when they found the name of the burned business. "Ya know the place?" he asked carefully, taking in her tense posture.

"The lab I worked in received most of its funding laundered through this place," she muttered studying the picture of the building taken early on in its early morning burn. "I've seen this name on invoices before."

Heiji gave her another side-long look, studying her. "Yuminaga-keibu told me the fire started on the third floor and that the floor had thicker walls than the other two floors."

"Of course, that was the floor they used for organization business. The rest of the building was just a front. They must have felt there was a danger of discovery for some reason," she sighed skimming through another article.

"So _they_ were the ones who set the fire?" he asked carefully.

"All organization buildings, regardless of purpose, are built by organization run construction companies and are literally built to burn," she muttered in a voice clearly bored by the necessity to explain. "Each building has a guarded kill switch, a light switch, that once flipped starts an electrical fire inside the walls and a very flammable foam insulation carries the fire through the entire building and burns away without a trace. It's all very efficient," she finished closing the webpage tab and starting a new article.

Heiji gave an irritated huff, still a little too keyed to read patiently over her shoulder. "I'm gonna try calling again," he muttered pushing off the chair to burn off his nervous energy pacing. Ai didn't acknowledge him and he didn't really expect her to. The lack of answer to any of his calls left him leaning on the computer table staring off into space again, his leg fidgeting until an annoyed Ai hit him with a nearby chemistry text for making the monitor shake. "Hey, where's Agasa-han?" he asked finally taking a good look around.

"Shopping. He's attending a physics symposium coming up soon and I informed him if he didn't wear a suit, I would never let him eat red meat again," she answered in a cool tone that Heiji detected a touch of anger to. "While _I_ will be enjoying the intellectual thrill of the multiplication tables _he_ will be enjoying a lecture on quantum physics by Stephen Hawking at Tokyo University."

"Sounds boring. I guess you wanted to go?" Heiji muttered the obvious staring down at his cell phone and scrolling back and forth between Kudo and Conan's number, oblivious of her dangerous glare and hand reaching for the book to hit him again. She would have… if the article she was reading hadn't distracted her with a precious new fact.

"I found something," she said quietly, watching for Heiji's attention to come back in focus. "Nichiuri interviewed a guard at the embassy across the street. It says he thinks he saw a hang glider in the smoke." She gave him a significant look while he processed the information.

"…KID_?_! He saw Kaitou Kid_?_!" Heiji exclaimed. "What's _he_ doing hanging around one of _their_ buildings_?_!"

"It doesn't look like any of the other channels had any sound bites from him. It seems his testimony isn't being taken seriously," she mused thoughtfully, staring at the monitor deep in thought. "Do you suppose he saw something?" she asked with a frown. "If he really was in the area, maybe he saw where Kudo-kun went."

"And how exactly are we gonna ask him," Heiji muttered, slumping at the thought of having to track the flying thief down. "Place an ad in the newspaper like that Jirokichi guy?"

"If we do, we'd have to be very careful. If the organization catches wind at all that the detective of the west, Kid and Mouri-san's assistant are linked to this fire in any way…" Ai let the warning hang. "If possible I'd like to keep that option a last resort."

"Maybe Nakamori-han might know how, or at least have an idea." Out of any other ideas, Heiji dialed the police station in Ekoda-cho and wandered back to his backpack for a pen and paper.

Ai turned back to the computer to quietly watch clips of early news footage. Slowly, her focus was drawn back to Kudo's loud friend as she noticed he had resumed his fitful pacing behind her. Her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance picking up on his grumbling. "Is there a problem?" she groused in irritation.

"They keep transferring me and putting me on hold," he muttered. "Just a… Nakamori-keibu? This is Ha- ah, sorry Kowata-junsa. Can you transfer me to Nakamori-keibu? I need ta ask him something." Noticing Ai's forward bent position, he held up a hand to stave off her input while he listened to the officer. "…okay… I see… well thanks anyways." He flung his closed phone into the pillows of the couch with a muttered curse.

"Nothing?" Ai asked.

"Nakamori-han isn't taking calls today," he repeated with a frustrated sigh, flopping down on the couch. "Whatever that means," he finished glaring at some fixed point on the floor. "He said to try calling back tomorrow. Sounded like things were busy over there."

"Maybe they're taking the Kid sighting seriously," Ai concluded, powering down Agasa's computer. "I guess that's all we can do for today. It'll have to wait for tomorrow."

"Are ya just gonna give up?" he demanded behind an angry glare.

"We have no leads with the possible exception of an evasive jewel thief we can't reach without calling undue attention to ourselves and the only person who might be able to help can't see us until tomorrow," she replied in a cool voice climbing up a tall barstool to collect several notebooks from her 'lab table.' "When you called Kudo-kun's phone, did it go straight to voicemail?"

"Yeah?" Heiji answered watching her carry her collection of notes to the couch she had been sitting on earlier.

"And when you called Edogawa-kun's phone?"

"It… rang twice, then it went to voicemail," Heiji replied slowly in dawning realization.

"If it was able to ring, it couldn't have been destroyed in the fire," she sighed in that condescending way she had that made Heiji wonder if she was making heavy implications about his intelligence. He gave her a pointed glare while he watched her collect her magazine. "We can only assume if his phone is alright so is he. He must have his reasons for not contacting anyone. You'll simply have to wait until Nakamori-keibu can see you tomorrow."

"There's no way I can wait that long. I'll go insane," he muttered, leg already back to hopping in a nervous fidget.

"Then go insane quietly. I have work to do," Ai replied coldly, readjusting her grip on the spirals and magazine and disappeared downstairs to her own computer. Heiji dropped his head back on the cushions of the couch behind him and gave another frustrated curse. Digging his phone out of the crack in the cushions it had slipped down, he picked himself up to resume his pacing while he dialed the familiar number of Conan's cell phone.

* * *

Megure looked around the restaurant carefully until he spotted the familiar head of his colleague in a booth in the far corner.

"Um… how many, sir," the hostess standing behind the wooden podium asked trying to catch the detective's attention.

"Oh, I'm meeting someone," he replied wandering off onto the main floor with a quick tip of his hat.

"Took you long enough," the Ekoda-cho inspector grumbled waiting for Megure to take his seat.

Megure took a long look at the frazzled man who had developed the fidgeting tick of one who'd been downing nothing but one cup of coffee after another since sun up. "Ah, sorry Nakamori-kun. It's the first time I've been to Columbo and I took the wrong turnoff," Megure exclaimed with an apologetic grin to the grouchy inspector.

Nakamori 'hmphed' to himself and took a long drink from his coffee mug while he waited for the Beika-cho inspector to order his own. "I heard from him," he said quietly as soon as the waitress left. Megure raised an eyebrow and waited expectantly for him to continue. "Just sitting there on my department's roof, like I haven't been trying to catch him for the last decade, the idiot." He took another angry swig of coffee. "He looked awful," he muttered. "Probably how I look. I'm betting his day was as long as mine."

"Then… he really was at the scene like that security guard said?" Megure asked wearily. At Nakamori's nod, he leaned forward across the table. "He didn't have anything to do with that building catching fire, did he?" he asked softly.

"Him_?_! Don't be ridiculous. He's a klepto not a pyro," Nakamori scoffed, taking another long drink of coffee as though it was the only thing keeping him alive. "…most of the time. Anyway, he didn't set that fire."

"You're sure?" Megure asked skeptically. Nakamori gave a firm nod.

"He gave me a message for you," he muttered. "Two actually. First, he heard from that Kudo kid of yours. We have a mole." Megure looked up with pointed interest. "It's either in your department or mine, but these people burned that building because they were tipped off and the leak is on our side."

Megure gave him a fierce frown. "Are you implying one of my officers is responsible for this fiasco?" he asked in an angry hiss, trying to keep his voice down.

"Yes. At least one of yours or mine, possibly even more than one is on the take. I didn't like hearing it any more than you but that information comes directly from Kudo!" Nakamori returned just as fiercely.

"Kudo-kun said that?" Megure asked, calming down instantly.

"I take it you feel the information is good?" Nakamori asked, watching him closely.

"If Kudo-kun says so, then it's true," Megure frowned worrying with his napkin.

"Honest kid, huh?" Nakamori asked lightly.

"You ask me that, yet you take the word of a wanted thief," Megure shot back with a wry grin. Nakamori gave a gruff grin of his own and raised his mug of coffee in silent salute. They both leaned back in their seats silently as the waitress brought Megure's coffee.

"So what do we do?" Megure asked quietly. "Do we turn this over to Internal Affairs?"

"Absolutely not! I don't know about you but I'm keeping this in-house until I have some damn proof!" the irate Ekoda-cho inspector growled. "My men are tight. After all this time we've spent chasing that freak and the shit he puts us through, we're all family. We can follow that idiot onto roof supports and scale building awnings a hundred feet off the ground because we all trust that the guy next to you has your back. I'll be damned if I let those bastards in Internal Affairs spook my men and break that trust. I'll check everyone out myself. If someone _has_ betrayed that trust, I should be the one to find them. You?"

"I suppose I can do some checking on my own," Megure said thoughtfully, mulling over his options.

"Whatever you do, do it quietly," Nakamori muttered, taking another sip of his coffee. "They obviously have a way to contact these people. If they're willing to burn down buildings, we can't know what they're capable of."

Megure nodded his understanding. "Is that all he told you?" he asked, after a long drink of his own.

"No. He said to destroy the pictures he gave us, the one's of his surveillance on that building," Nakamori said quietly, leaning forward conspiratorially. "In particular, those of the two men he named, Gin and Vodka. We aren't to let anyone see those pictures or know we can recognize those two. He said if the mole found out, it would be incredibly dangerous; that we wouldn't be safe. He implied it could be our lives on this one. I'm not going to even bother shredding my copies, I've got my stack in the car and I'm burning 'em as soon as I get home."

"I… may have a problem with that," Megure said quietly, reviewing that morning's events. Nakamori gave him a sharp look. "Three of my detectives and I discussed the case this morning. They all saw the dockets I prepared for the mission. And I let one of them keep a copy," he murmured miserably.

"You what_?_!" Nakamori barely managed to restrain his voice to a non-attention grabbing level. "We've got a copy of those pictures floating around_?_! At least tell me these three are trustworthy, beyond a shadow of a doubt!"

"They are!" Megure hissed back insistently.

"Who has those pictures_?_!" Nakamori demanded.

"Sato-kun, Masayoshi-kun's daughter!" he answered back.

"And you're sure?" Nakamori asked, watching him carefully.

"Without a shadow of a doubt." Megure gave him a glare daring him to question his detectives' loyalty again.

"Just promise me you'll check them out," he muttered sending Megure an aggravated glare right back. "We can't be sure of anything on this one. And you better let them know not to show anyone those pictures. Get them back if you can."

"Yes, I know," Megure replied with a tired sigh. "This is becoming such a mess."

"Anything having to do with Kid usually is," Nakamori mumbled around another drink of coffee.

* * *

It was two o'clock in the morning. Two o'clock in the morning and Heiji had just called Conan's phone again, no answer, as he had been every hour on the hour. Both Agasa and Ai had long fallen asleep and he was still wide-awake. He had moved his pacing to the second floor landing so as not to disturb anyone leaving him alone in the soft moonlight of the windows ringing the second floor rotunda.

Alone, except for the light falling from the uncurtained view of the Kudo mansion's library. He could easily see Kudo's house guest, Okiya Subaru, from his desk light reading. He had had an unsettled feeling when he first noticed the man reading at such a late hour. For a moment, he could have sworn the man was watching him from over the top of his novel. But he had quickly shaken it off realizing the man couldn't possibly see him through the window at night with a light on in the same room. He wrote it off as lingering paranoia over the missing Kudo. Speaking of which…

He settled himself on the floor of the walkway with one of the railing supports against his back and glared at his phone with tired eyes. But he didn't dare go to sleep. Each time he closed his eyes, he saw fragments of the tower's security feed he had watched at Takagi-keiji's apartment. Ran facing down a gun point blank, Kudo taking that shot in the stomach, Kudo being held down by the neck with a gun pressed to his forehead… Kudo falling past the camera over three hundred meters off the ground. It was clear to him how close they had both come to dying that night. And the more his memory obsessed over it, the more overwhelmed he felt. Somehow it seemed like both he and Kudo's partner in the world of the terminally short had reversed their roles with her confidence that Kudo had made it out of the blaze and his own anxious worry… … …yes, he was definitely going to beat the hell out of Kudo when he finally found him.

Letting himself stew in his angry thoughts of vengeance rather than the more unproductive panicked worry of earlier, he busied himself with finding directions to Ekoda-cho's police department on his cell phone and plotting his subway route once it was finally morning.

* * *

Sato put down the borrowed binoculars Uehara had pulled from the glove box for her. "It looks like he's staying there for the night," she mused. They had been sitting in the car half a block from Agasa's home since mid-evening when the Osakan had disappeared through the front door. It had almost seemed like he was planning on leaving in the dead of the night with all the pacing and phone calls he had been making from her view of him through Agasa's second floor windows, but he had dropped down out of sight and the house was finally silent.

Uehara accepted the binoculars Sato offered and looked for herself. "Do you think he'll try to leave through a back door?" she asked.

"I doubt it. It doesn't look like he's noticed us," Sato replied tilting her seat back into a more comfortable position and stretching her stiff muscles as best she could in the compact car.

Uehara reached behind Sato into the pocket behind the passenger seat and pulled out a small travel pillow. "Here, this should help," she said with a sympathetic smile for someone not used to spending hours in her small car.

"Thank you, Uehara-san." Sato gratefully accepted the pillow and slipped it behind her head trying to relax the tension in the muscles of her neck and shoulders. "You sure came prepared."

"Please, it's Yui," she answered with a grin, "And actually, that's Kan-chan's pillow."

Sato raised an eyebrow and pulled the pillow back out to eye its pastel glory with a flowery sham and very fetching lace ruffle to boot. "Really_?_!"

Uehara gave a warm laugh at the skepticism on the Beika-cho detective's face. "He doesn't really like people to know, but his leg gives him trouble if he sits for long periods of time. We keep that one in the car for stakeouts. Just don't tease him about it, he'll kill me if he knew I let you see it."

"It's very… pink," Sato said diplomatically.

"It was the only travel pillow we could find that was comfortable for him _and_ fit in that pocket," Uehara replied.

"Alright, your secret is safe with me Uehara-san," Sato answered with a grin.

"Yui."

"Sorry, Yui-san," Sato corrected with a grin of her own. "And it's Miwako."

"All right Miwako-san, just remember you promised," Uehara said, with a grin and taking another sweep of the professor's house through the binoculars. "And if you're keeping that one, I guess I can trust you to know I actually sewed him a replacement pillow case two months ago." The two women met gazes as Uehara pulled down her binoculars and burst out laughing.

"That's horrible," Sato finally managed wiping tears from the corner of her eyes.

"Oh, it's worse," Uehara continued when her giggling was down to a manageable level. "When we first bought it, it was rose-scented. We got it just after I rejoined the force and he was teased a bit for always staying right next to me but I got so many compliments about my wonderful new perfume." The two melted right back into several more minutes of laughter.

"I don't think I'll be able to look him in the face and not start laughing," Sato confessed once they had both calmed down.

"Please try, I'd like to see my next birthday," Uehara replied, tilting back her own seat. Sato gave a small relaxed smile, settling herself more comfortably. Uehara picked up the digital camera they had left in one of the cup holders between them. Sato leaned over to follow Uehara's quiet study of the pictures they had taken while following the young man.

"I really wish we had a better shot of whatever it is he's holding," Uehara murmured.

"Maybe Takagi-kun can clean-up the pictures," Sato suggested watching the replay of Heiji's walk straight to the burned shell of the building of that morning's cancelled mission. "Personally, I'd really like to know what he was doing at _that_ building of all places."

"Your Kaitou Kid heist was supposed to happen there, right?"

Sato nodded biting down on one of her nails studying the blurry shot they had of Heiji fleeing the building after he had disappeared inside for several minutes. "One of these people's buildings. We were so close," she looked away from the pictures in frustrated disgust.

"It doesn't bother you that your department and Division Two were planning that bust with Kaitou Kid, an Interpol wanted criminal_?_!" Uehara asked in a tone obviously skeptical of the Tokyo police's morals concerning the failed mission. "That your information on this came from a criminal. You don't think he might have been trying to manipulate the police for his own intentions_?_!"

"Of course not, I wouldn't expect anything less of him than to turn in these bastards if he had information on them," Sato replied confidently.

Uehara gave her an odd look for her praise of the criminal and went back to looking through pictures. "I still can't believe Hattori-kun knew about _them_," she finally said, breaking the silence.

"Honestly, I'm not that surprised. He's almost as scary as Kudo-kun," Sato replied with a shiver. "What I want to know is why he never told us about them before," she said with firm finality. Uehara switched her study to Sato's quite pissed expression.

"I probably don't know him as well as you do, I've only seen him work one case with Kan-chan and little Conan-kun, but I'm sure he had a good reason," she said in a calm placating voice.

"He better," Sato said, honestly angry with the young detective.

Uehara winced in sympathy of what was likely to be a very brutal interrogation once the Tokyo detective got her hands on Heiji. "Are we staying the night or do we call off tailing him?" she asked.

"We stay. I don't like that he's been keeping things from us. I'm not sure we can trust him to tell us everything of what's going on," Sato ordered firmly. "I think it's best we see for ourselves in case he tries hiding anything else."

"Agreed. Two hour shifts?" Uehara asked.

"Sounds good," Sato said, "I'll take first." Uehara gave her a nod and tilted her seat back all the way, settling in for a nap.

Sato reclaimed the binoculars and checked again for Heiji through the second-story windows. After several minutes of study, it seemed Heiji was no longer pacing or making phone calls. She carefully panned right then left in case she could find him elsewhere in the house. Her pan left brought part of the Kudo mansion into view. Not knowing quite why, perhaps because the Osakan and the Beika-cho detectives were such good friends, she started a careful search of the Kudo property. When her pan took her across the library windows, she started, eyes wide, seeing a man standing in the window looking directly at her. She dropped the binoculars in her lap in surprise. Scrambling to pick them up and find the right window again, by the time she found the same library window, the man was gone.

She bit her lip realizing the light hairs on her arms were standing on end and she had goosebumps up and down her arms and legs. It was that same foreboding sense she had had in the superintendent's office two days ago. Looking now, the library light was off and the curtains were drawn over the window. She pulled the binoculars down and studied the empty street almost expecting someone to jump out from the shadows.

A muted click sounded as she locked the car doors.

* * *

Heiji cursed to himself, locking the front door of Agasa's house. It was almost noon and he was running horribly late according to his self-made schedule. He hadn't expected to actually fall asleep sitting against the railing of the second-story walkway. In fact, he couldn't even remember falling asleep, only waking up incredibly stiff and with a deep impression of a railing support on the side of his face.

Agasa was already gone on his own business for the day and the creepy girl had already left for school, though he had a funny feeling she was the one that had left the glass of orange juice and plate of toast long gone cold next to him on the floor.

He was now running, phone in hand, down the sidewalks of the serene residential neighborhood relying on the map he'd found the night before to take him out of the unfamiliar maze of mansions as he took an unfamiliar path in order to avoid the Mouri Detective Agency. It would certainly ruin his cover if someone recognized him and informed Ran. And he was looking at a very long walk now that he had missed the bus he had found the night before to take him across the ward. It had taken him ages to work out all the connections he needed to make to cross town without hanging around places he could be recognized or risking being caught by Detectives Sato and Takagi. There was no way he was explaining the mess Kudo was in with the organization alone, and frankly, Inspector Yamato was a very scary man when he wanted to be.

/

Heiji bent double, leaning a hand on the stone walls of the Ekoda Police Department entrance ignoring the odd looks the few police on cigarette breaks were giving him. He pulled his baseball cap off to run his jacketed arm across his forehead and took a minute to straighten his clothes. Steeling himself, he walked up the steps and entered the building.

Finding Inspector Nakamori's office had been a simple matter of reading the black directory on the entrance wall, but now that he was here, he wasn't quite sure what to say to the man. He was sure the man would frown on his request to make contact with the flying thief he was so famous for unleashing his temper at. And it wasn't likely Nakamori would release such information without an explanation, if he didn't kick him out on the spot. And if he did have to tell Nakamori Conan was missing… he knew the inspector had a soft spot for the kid, his 'lucky charm' if he remembered right, that didn't make him safe to speak to about organization related matters.

He leaned against the wall in the corridor just outside Division Two and peeked through the broad glass window. Everyone in the room was diligently at work at their desks heads bent and quietly filling out reports. Beyond them he could see the closed door of a master office he assumed to be Nakamori's. He recognized the tense atmosphere of the room, as any student could. It was the look of a room that knew their supervisor was in a very bad mood. He suddenly felt even less like entering.

Before he could think about backing out, he pushed into the room and marched himself to Nakamori's office door ignoring the stares and warning looks from the officers at their desks trying to warn him off. Once he got closer to the door he understood why. He could definitely hear the loud yelling coming from the other side of the door. From the lack of response, he figured the inspector must be on the phone.

"You shouldn't go in there," a voice behind him stage whispered. He turned around to see Nakamori's meek-mannered assistant watching him from his desk.

"Will he be off the phone soon?" Heiji asked, almost thankful for the excuse to delay speaking with the very angry inspector.

"He's been on the phone with Megure-keibu from Beika for the last few hours."

Heiji's eyebrows shot skyward at that bit of information.

"I don't think he'll be off any time soon. You should wait over there."

Heiji followed the man's finger to the line of chairs against a wall under the room's line of windows. "Thanks, uhh…" He suddenly realized he had no idea what the man's name was aside from Kudo's snide nickname of 'whipping boy' for Nakamori's oft abused assistant.

"Although if I were you, I'd come back tomorrow," he continued, not noticing Heiji's awkward pause. "He's been like this since yesterday's Kid heist was canceled."

"There was a Kid heist yesterday?" he asked in genuine surprise. The desks around them erupted in a sea of shushing sounds.

"Don't talk about it, he might hear you!" the officer at the desk across from him ordered in as loud a whisper as he could get away with. Heiji looked around to see all the officers within hearing distance glaring at the two of them.

"He's going to smack you again," someone else called out softly.

"Just go sit down already!" an officer stage whispered at Heiji. "We don't want him coming out here."

Heiji gave a meek nod in the face of so many angry police officers and made his way to the chairs as ordered. He quietly wondered if Kid had planned something near the organization's building. It would certainly make sense why he was seen in the area, but he had never heard of a Kid heist ever being canceled. But whatever questions he felt like asking died a silent death as he realized most of the officers in the room were glaring at him for endangering them to the angry tirades of the inspector. He decided it was in the best interest of his continued health to just sit quietly and wait for Nakamori to end his call.

/

Twenty minutes later, his boredom had gotten the best of him and he was scrolling through his address book, looking for someone to text to pass the time. A glance at the time told him Kazuha was probably in the middle of her geometry class and wouldn't take kindly to his possibly getting her phone confiscated if he texted her during class. His eyes fell on Conan's name and he gave an exasperated sigh. "Can't hurt," he mumbled to himself. He pressed the call button and brought the phone to his ear for another round of two rings and Conan's bright happy voicemail kicking in. His eyes went wide when he heard the click of the line being picked up in the middle of the second ring.

"_Hel—_"

Heiji paused just long enough to confirm the voice was indeed Kudo's before shouting into his own phone. "**DAMN IT KUDO, YOU AHO! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I'VE BEEN TRYING TO REACH YOU!**" Around the room, the members of Division Two looked up in horrified unison at the sudden outburst and cast fearful eyes on the door of Nakamori's office. "**I've been calling you for TWO. DAYS. Where the hell are you, ya little bastard!**"

As one, the entire room gave a frantic "SHH!" at him. Blatantly ignoring the officers, he covered his free ear with his hand to better hear whatever excuse Kudo had come up with for scaring him witless.

"_I… don't know_," the missing boy replied back in a weak breathless, bewildered voice.

"…what do you mean, ya don't know where you are?" Warning bells were sounding in Heiji's mind at the implications of Kudo in a situation where he didn't know where he was. His mind flashed through endless possibilities, everything from a possible kidnapping to Kudo having some sort of head injury. And he certainly didn't like the airy way Kudo's voice sounded. "Are you okay?"

"_Hardly! I… can barely… move_," Conan's voice replied sounding heavily labored.

"…you're hurt?" Heiji asked carefully, all traces of his earlier anger gone. "From that fire?" Heiji felt the panic of the night before welling up as his imagination provided very unwanted images of the shrunken detective too injured to move or tied up in some derelict warehouse.

"…_yeah_," Conan replied. "_I'm… kind of… stuck in bed… right now._"

Heiji paused in the midst of his panicking. '_Bed?_' A bed at least meant he was somewhere providing shelter and the lack of fervor in his voice meant he was someplace relatively safe. Kudo almost sounded somewhat bored. He felt his stomach begin to unknot itself and he felt the tension drop out of him. "And ya have no idea where ya are at all?" Heiji asked feeling calm for the first time since he had arrived in Tokyo.

"_Ekoda_," Conan mumbled. Heiji started in surprise and shot out of his chair, scanning the city outside the window as if he could miraculously find the lost boy that way. He marveled at the sheer coincidence that the missing Kudo was so close by. Not waiting a second longer, he took off for the door ignoring the relieved looks on the Division Two members now that the loud one was leaving. Heiji listened to a scratchy muffled noise that sounded like the shifting of sheets while he hurriedly made his way to the emergency stairs too worried the elevator might make him lose the connection. "_It's… at least… a second-story… house_," Conan finished in that gasping breathless voice.

"So you're in some neighborhood?" Heiji asked in confusion. He was fairly certain Kudo didn't know anyone in Ekoda-cho.

"_I think… I'm somewhere… near… Nakamori-keibu's… house._"

"Nakamori-han? The guy who chases Kid?" Heiji asked, demanding confirmation. If Kudo meant the one and same Nakamori Ginzou who's office he'd just left, it would be an unbelievable stroke of luck. "Hold on, I'll find his address." He searched impatiently, kicking himself for not asking one of Nakamori's men when he could have. "Got it. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"_Wait. You're here?_!" Conan exclaimed in a voice that sounded much more like his usual grumpiness.

"I'll call ya back when I get to the neighborhood. Don't worry, Kudo. I'll find you," Heiji swore vehemently, ending the call. He picked up his pace, ignoring the stares he received, running out of the police station and out into the street.

/

Heiji looked around frantically standing in the Ekoda-cho inspector's driveway and gazed around the middle-upper class neighborhood of split-level homes in the middle of suburbia. "Alright, where are you?" he murmured to himself speed dialing the familiar number and waiting for Kudo to pick up.

"_Here_," Conan answered simply.

Heiji grinned recklessly to himself. Kudo was close, he was definitely within a block of finding him. It was still an unbelievable relief to hear the boy's voice regardless of its terse grumpiness. "Hey, Kudo. I'm in front of Nakamori-han's house. Can ya give me any hints?" Heiji asked looking over the windows of the houses nearby for any sign of the kid's dark brown hair. The curtains of a house across the street moved suspiciously and he almost started walking over when Conan responded.

"_There's… a west-facing… window. …I… can see a… tree._"

Heiji frowned and looked around. That put the house with the curtains off his list. It had no trees, just decorative flowering bushes. He looked around for houses that matched wandering into the street for a better vantage. "Alright, hold on. There's six two-story houses on the block," he replied. He studied the suspect buildings but for some reason, the house next door with the tall ginko tree in front of the windows kept catching his eye. "…there's a house right next door with a tree in front of the window," he muttered walking over to the tree and looking up to the second-story window. The tree had many broad branches that would have made an easy climb for even a child to scale, all the way up to the window. A climbing tree, as Kazuha called them back when they were in grade school. He grinned up at the high window and pulled his cap off his head. "I'm gonna throw my cap at the window. Tell me if ya see it." He threw his hat up at the window, the visor hitting against the window with a soft thunk.

"_Saw it_," Conan replied over his phone.

Heiji gave a sigh of relief, pulling his hat out of the bed of pansies it had fallen into and dusting it off. "Okay. I'll climb up and get you outta there," Heiji said, firmly pulling his hat on backwards. "Weird that someone was keeping ya right next door to a police inspector's house. They must not be too smart," he said looking across the yard to Nakamori's home. "Think ya can unlock the window when I get up there?"

"_Afraid not. I can't… move._"

Heiji's relief turned back to worry in a flash. He knew very well that if the boy was being held somewhere, he was more than capable of escaping on his own… unless someone was keeping him immobile. "So they got ya tied up in there," he muttered, now quite sure of himself in his deduction. Conan's broken breathing made much more sense now. "Must be tight. It sounds like you can barely breathe. I'll climb up and take a look. Maybe I can break the window," he said reaching for a branch and hoisting himself up into the tree. Keeping the phone line open, he put the open cell phone in his mouth and started climbing in earnest.

/

He changed his mind. The tree would have been perfect for climbing… if he was six. The branches that looked like easy climbing were just too close together and grouped awkwardly forcing him to scrunch his lanky body into painful crouched positions while he tried to find his way higher. He'd already bashed his head twice when he had tried to straighten up too fast and a near slip had left him with a jammed finger. He finally took time to rest and brush the broken bits of bark off his treasured cap once he reached a level branch in front of the second-story window. He looked in to what looked like a perfectly normal room of someone male and most likely around the age of a high school or university student judging by the playstation he could make out on the floor next to a television. He leaned forward on his branch trying to get a better view of the bed's occupant but the angle was just too sharp. From what little he could see, it didn't look like Conan was being tied down or restrained in any way.

He eyed the slender windowsill warily. Taking hold of a slender branch above his head, he used his free hand to press on the windowsill, testing its sturdiness. The windowsill didn't budge but the branch he was grabbing gave an ominous creak.

Making a final decision, he closed his phone, shoving it into a jacket pocket and carefully crossed a leg from the tree to the windowsill. With only room for one, he rested his knee on the narrow sill and tested the window one-handed holding tight to a branch with the other. "Kudo! Can ya unlock the window for me?" Heiji yelled through the glass to the figure in bed.

From the bed, Conan threw back the covers and pulled up the bottom of his pajama top exposing the mess of bandages around his middle with a roll of his eyes. "Sorry!" he yelled back. Heiji's eyes widened at the sight of the tight bandages starting just above Conan's navel and disappearing high up under his shirt. '_Ribs,_' the logical part of his brain told him, beginning its catalogue of the kid's injuries, '_bruised, maybe cracked._' His eyes focused on the hand that had grabbed the shirt, wrapped in bandages, even down to the fingers and looking up higher, there was a circlet of white bandages around Conan's head. He highly suspected the other hand was just as mummified. "Damn it, Kudo, what the hell happened to you_?_!" he swore under his breath.

"Alright," he said loud enough for Conan to hear him through the wall. "I'm gonna break the window. Okay?" Without another word, he jammed his elbow into the glass, thankful for the protective thickness of his jacket. He slipped his fingers through the small break flipping the lock and lifted the window to the top as quickly as he could. If someone was in the house keeping guard, he only had a few seconds before someone came to investigate the noise. There was no way the breaking glass would have gone unnoticed.

He was in the middle of his crossing from branch to sill, when a thundering noise began from the other side of the room's door becoming progressively louder. '_The stairs!_' Heiji frantically pulled his other leg over and ducked his head to get in the room. There was no way he'd have time to get Conan out of the room before they were caught, the best he could hope for was to get himself between the kid and who ever was keeping him here. He was in the middle of climbing off the sill to the ground when the door burst open and he looked up into the two gun muzzles pointed straight at him.

~fin~

/

/

/

AN:

PSA: Underaged people shouldn't drink. Bad Ai, bad!

You guys get a twofer this time. My original plan had been to release Chapter 5 on Christmas and this one on New Year's but it just didn't happen. Oops. So please accept your belated Christmas gifts. Happy (Belated) Christmas and Happy (Belated) New Year's!

I held a long debate with myself on Heiji's 'voice' whether or not to write his voice with normal English usage or to hick his voice up. I finally decided that his Kansai-ben brogue was just too wide (wide as the fricken Mississippi) to ignore, so I hicked him up a little. Plus, I can hardly have Kudo making fun of his accent and inability to 'speak Japanese' if he sounds like everyone else. You may notice though that I don't make _every single_ 'you' a 'ya' and likewise on other words. Coming from a place that's quite noted world over for our own accent and colloquial manner of speech (Texas ya'll. Hook 'em Horns! And for my readers from other countries, no, I don't ride a horse to work and no, I don't have a gun. That said… um… I _can_ ride a horse and I _can_ shoot a gun. BUT THAT'S A COINCIDENCE, I SWEAR!) such corruptions aren't used _every_ time during actual speech, it's more of a rhythm-cadence kind of thing. So I tried to follow through with that in Heiji's and (if it comes up) Kazuha's voice. (Amusingly, my little brother and his friends took a car trip to California for E3 one year, they had press passes the lucky bastards, and many Californians did ask them if they rode horses to school and had guns. Don't get mad any of you Californians cuz that really happened! And I've been asked the same question many times since I went to an international high school, I was like one of seven Americans in my entire grade. I think a good part of the world sees us as a bunch of cowboys and considering my high school was also a working ranch with several hundred head of santa gertrudes, I can't much argue.)

Eps Referenced: 2 Company President's Daughter Kidnapping Case, 205-206 Metropolitan Police Detective Love Story 3 pt1-2, 219 The Gathered Detectives! Kudo Shinichi vs Kaitou Kid, 325-327 Red Horse Inside the Flame pt1-3, 356 Kaitou Kid's Miracle Midair Walk, 509 Red, White, Yellow & the Detective Boys, 516 Furinkazan: The Mysterious Armored Warrior pt1, 517 Furinkazan: Shadow & Lightning Conclusion pt2.

/

/

* * *

To: Base #xxx

From: Agent xxx

Time: 0600

Plans for upcoming mission complete. Request use of training room B for rehearsal and practice time. A copy of mission plans is enclosed. (see attachment)

End of Report.

* * *

/

/

* * *

To: Agent xxx

From: Base #xxx

Time: 0800

Mission plans approved.

Status of mission: Pending. Expect approval soon.

New orders are as follow:

New targets have been deemed in need of investigation. Targets identified as Detectives Sato, Miwako and Takagi, Wataru of Beika Police Department. Discretion is needed due to target's rank and position. Place Agent xxxxxxxx to assess their level of involvement. (See attachment for the revised list of said targets' secondary targets) If targets pose any problem during upcoming mission, eliminate along with secondary targets.

End of Report.

* * *

/

/

/


	10. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: not mine. Movie-verse and anime-verse.

/

/

**Chapter 6**

/

"**You!"**

"**You!"**

Hakuba let his gun droop to the ground and gave Heiji a look of pure disdain while the Osakan openly glared at the blonde detective. "What are _you_ doing here?" Hakuba muttered, brushing past a confused Kaito and advancing on the detective of the west climbing in the window. "Didn't you already get your fill of breaking through windows or do you just feel the need to break everything you touch_?_!"

"What are _you_ doing keeping Ku-Conan-kun locked up and beat up in this room_?_!" Heiji shot back angrily, edging himself between Hakuba and the bed. "What've ya been doing to the kid_?_!"

"My window!" Kaito mourned softly, completely drowned out by the two detectives holding their heated shouting match in the middle of his bedroom.

"So this is _my_ fault_?_!" Hakuba yelled back, "You can't honestly be blaming _me_ because Kudo-kun decided hanging around with wanted criminals and breaking into burning buildings was a good idea_?_! I'm the one who warned him something like this might happen!"

From the bed Conan rolled his eyes and tried to push off the mattress to hitch himself higher. He jumped slightly when a white card gun was dropped low in his lap and he realized Kaito had moved to his side, pushing away the chair full of books. "Don't try to move," he murmured, ignoring the bickering detectives that were currently paying them no attention. "Do you want to sit up?" With a pained nod from Conan for affirmation, he grabbed his pillows from his futon, still laid out, and carefully lifted the boy to a sitting position arranging the pillows behind him. "Are they always like this?" he asked.

"Pretty much. Just usually… not this loud," Conan answered watching the shouting match calmly.

Kaito looked him over with an appraising eye noting the shrunken detective's relaxed attitude at the last few minutes of mayhem that had transpired. "Couldn't you have found a better way to entertain yourself? One that didn't involve my window?"

"You… caught me," Conan retorted unabashedly without a hint of apology or shame. "My dad's credit card… is in Ran's… jewelry box. Feel free to… cover the cost… with that."

"I know, I found it when I snuck over yesterday to pack an overnight for you." Kaito pulled out the bag he had stuffed under the bed the night before and pulled the small card out of a zippered section, dropping it lightly in Conan's hand. Conan raised an eyebrow, fixing him with a 'look'. "I figured you might need it for emergencies. I swear I didn't touch her jewelry," he said in a rush catching Conan's look.

"Right," Conan muttered tucking the card into the breast pocket of his pajamas, turning back to Heiji and Hakuba.

"If you're so innocent, why did ya block me from reaching him over the phone! I've been trying ta reach Kudo since yesterday!" Heiji yelled. "And who the hell is _he?_!" he finished pointing at the only other figure in the room crouched down by the bed with his back to them. Kaito tensed on reflex realizing he was under scrutiny.

"The wanted criminal," Hakuba muttered crossing his arms over his chest. "Like I said, I warned Kudo that no good would come of associating with him," he finished with a very I-told-you-so tone.

"Thanks a bunch, Hakuba," Kaito muttered under his breath.

"And who's…" Heiji stopped, paling visibly under his tan skin. "W-Why are ya calling him that? Conan-kun's just a little kid," he laughed off shakily.

"I already know. Everyone in this room knows. And for the record, you've already called him that too," Hakuba pointed out.

"What_?_!" Heiji exclaimed, his voice leaving him in a tight squeak. Kaito stood up guiltily knowing that Hakuba's inclusion in that knowledge was completely his fault. As soon as he turned around, Heiji's eyes went wide staring at the thief. "Kudo_?_!" Heiji shifted his gaze between the thief and the child in bed. "What's going on? Why are there two of you?"

"A little _slow_ are we?" Hakuba murmured just loud enough for Heiji to hear and send him a murderous glare.

Kaito swallowed hard realizing he was surrounded on all sides by detectives. Detectives quite committed to locking him behind bars, two of which were very angry. And the only one likely to defend him couldn't even stand up on his own yet. "Umm… Hi," he mumbled reaching out to shake Heiji's hand which the Kansai detective gladly took with a final glare sent Hakuba's way. "I'm…

"Kaitou Kid," Conan finished for him, appreciating the gobsmacked expression on Heiji's face.

"You_?_!" Heiji asked in a stunned voice. "You're really Kid_?_!" Kaito nodded back hesitantly with a very guarded expression, especially considering Heiji had yet to let go of his hand and he wasn't sure he'd be able to break the kendo expert's firm grip.

"Hattori… it's fine," Conan broke in from the bed rubbing a hand over his chest and the tight bandaging under his pajamas. "He knows… about _them._ He's helping… investigate," Conan gasped out.

"How did _you_ get involved?" Heiji asked letting go once he had Conan's assurance.

"They murdered my father," Kaito answered back unflinchingly. "About ten years ago. And I just found out Kudo knew about them. It was the first lead I'd had in a year. Kudo let me in on his investigation."

Heiji exchanged a look with Conan for confirmation. "He's been following… one of their… side projects," Conan rasped uncomfortably, dissolving into a bout of coughing at the end.

"Are you still feeling ill?" Hakuba asked, claiming Kaito's desk chair. Kaito looked at him oddly.

"No… it's from… the smoke," Conan replied, his gasping near hyperventilating after his coughing fit.

"You're still feeling sick Kudo?" Heiji asked, reaching a hand out to check his forehead.

"I'm fine," he muttered testily, knocking Heiji's hand away.

Heiji caught his hand and Conan winced at the pressure on his burns. "You're fine_?_! Right," he muttered letting go of the hand wrapped in gauze and bandages.

"Ran-san stayed home to look after him most of last week," Hakuba informed the curious thief.

"You knew?" Conan asked curiously.

"I spoke with Ran-san a few days ago. She's very loyal to you by the way," he stated, amused at the light flush in Conan's cheeks. "But are you sure you're recovered? It must have been bad, you were out of school for around four days."

"Were you… stalking me?" Conan murmured in a quiet voice.

"Is _that_ where you've been all week?" Kaito asked in surprise.

Conan met his eyes looking, dare he say, apologetic. "Ran wouldn't leave… me alone long enough… to send you a message. And then you tried… to catch them… by yourself… with incomplete data."

"And I almost got you killed," Kaito muttered with a heavy sigh.

Heiji gave the depressed thief a long look before plopping down on the bed, sitting near Conan's feet. "Ya don't have to worry about that," he said with a grin. "He finds those kinds of situations all by himself. In the time I've known him he's fallen down a flight of stairs, been stabbed in the chest, shot in the stomach, kidnapped by an agent of the Black Organization, broken his leg, and been stalked by an obsessed killer. And those were just the times I know of 'cause I was there."

"Hattori!" Conan whined, "You make me… sound accident prone!"

"You _are_ accident prone," Heiji retorted easily.

Kaito cracked a grin at the Osakan detective's easy manner. "I'll go get a glass of water for you," he said to the injured boy, "And when I get back you're going to answer every question I have." Conan gave him a faint smile and nodded. Kaito left them in the room, closing the door behind him.

"I have some questions for you, too," Hakuba said from Kaito's desk. "He said these people have infiltrated the police. I'd like to know exactly what kind of proof you have of that."

"Fine," Conan mumbled.

"Kudo, are you sure about this? Working with Kaitou Kid of all people_!_?" Heiji asked cautiously, watching Hakuba carefully.

Conan gave a light grin. "He's been… working this case… even longer… than I have. Besides, it's safer… this way."

Heiji gave him a nod over a serious frown. "If you say so, then fine," he said finally giving his friend a careful look over. "You're pretty banged up, eh Kudo? Anything serious?"

"Not really," Conan muttered. "When I was five… I was in the car… when my mother… had an accident… on the freeway. I feel… kind of like… that time."

"Yes, he looks great for someone who had a ceiling fall on him," Kaito muttered, handing him a glass with a bendy straw and pulling up the chair from earlier so Conan would have a place to set his drink. "But he probably wouldn't have survived the backdraft without the cover. He was completely buried except for a bit of his shoe." Kaito then took the dustpan he had tucked under his arm and the broom he'd brought with him and held them out to Heiji. "It's a pleasure meeting you tantei-san, now please clean up the mess you made of my window."

"Ahh… right. Sorry about that," Heiji said, ducking his head in embarrassment, accepting the broom and pushing himself up from the bed to clean up the broken glass. "I thought someone had kidnapped him and had him locked up," he admitted sheepishly. "So I guess it was true that Kid… uh you… were at the scene of that fire."

"What do you mean?" Kaito asked in confusion, "You already knew I was there?"

"It was on one of the news station's websites. A guard from the embassy said he saw your glider leaving the scene," Heiji answered. "But no other station ran his comment, I don't think anyone believed him."

"Either way… _they_ probably know… you were there now," Conan said. "No more heists… for a while."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Kaito muttered dropping to the floor on top of his futon. "I guess I'll start where we left off when we talked on your roof. You said they used code names for their assassins, how many are we talking about?"

Conan took a deep breath to get out as many words as he could with his restricted breathing. "I've got this Kudo," Heiji said dumping the glass in his dustpan in Kaito's trashcan and setting the pan and broom against a wall. "I know it's hard for you to talk right now." Conan nodded, happily passing the floor over to Heiji. "The ones who did this to him were Gin and Vodka. There's also Chianti and Korn."

"They're partners," Conan cut in.

"Kir, who's actually that news reporter, Mizunashi Rena," Heiji continued, ignoring the stunned looks passing between Kaito and Hakuba. "But she's a special case," he paused seeing Conan shake his head. "We can't read ya in until we get an okay on that one," he said nodding back to Conan that he understood his intent. "There's Vermouth."

"Their disguise… expert," Conan added.

"The one you told me about?" Kaito asked him carefully. Conan nodded, taking another drink of water.

"They had an agent disguised as Superintendent Matsumoto at the tower but they killed him," Heiji muttered with a deep frown. He couldn't help but let his eyes drift to Conan while his memory replayed the assassin's brutal attack on the kid, his memory replaying the shot of Conan being shot in the stomach over and over again.

"They what_?_!" Hakuba exclaimed in disbelief.

"Irish," Conan spoke up, supplying the name. "He held…Matsumoto-keishi…captive for a week."

"Kidnapping and replacing someone that high on the chain for so long is incredible_?_!" Hakuba exclaimed. "Why haven't I seen so much as an email about it? There's absolutely no paperwork in the system about it!"

Conan raised an eyebrow at the news. "There's a cover-up… in the works. I heard… from Sato-keiji."

"I suppose that would make for bad press," Hakuba muttered, "but burying something like _that_ is a bit much." He made a mental note to ask his father about it, if he actually had time between appointments and business calls.

"And there's Sherry," Heiji finished. "She's another special case. She defected and joined our side."

"You've been working with one of _their_ people_?_!" Kaito exclaimed, pinning Conan with a sharp look.

"You've… met her," Conan muttered.

"She took the same poison Kudo did," Heiji explained. "Calls herself Haibara Ai now."

"Her_?_! That serious girl is an _agent?_!" Kaito exclaimed with a shiver at the thought he'd been so close to an organization member without knowing.

"Ah, she's the one that made that stupid ahotoxin," Heiji replied, oblivious of Kaito's mood.

"Apotoxin. Apotoxin," Conan corrected in a cross voice. "Speak Japanese."

"I'll call it what I like," Heiji shot back, waving off Conan's comments. "Anyway, that's the ones we know of but it's probably just the tip of the iceberg."

"So you're harboring and working with one of their agents who helped in almost killing you_?_!" Kaito asked in a dark voice. Hakuba looked at him in surprise at the brimming anger in the thief's voice.

Conan held Kaito's accusing glare evenly. "I understand," he finally said shifting his focus up to the ceiling. "And I was… angry in the… beginning too. But she didn't… have a choice… about joining, they raised her… and she's suffered… losses too."

"Oh, really! Did they kill her father too_?_!" Kaito asked heatedly.

"Yeah, they did," Heiji answered before Conan could say anything, reclaiming his earlier seat on the bed. "Along with her mother and sister." Kaito backed down, but not without a firm arm-crossed pout.

'_I guess I'll wait to tell him I want him to work with Haibara on the Pandora investigation,_' Conan thought to himself.

"How far have they infiltrated the Tokyo police if they were able to abduct Matsumoto-keishi?" Hakuba asked when it didn't look like Kaito was going to continue his questioning.

"Not sure," Conan muttered.

"They stole a bunch of reports for cases Mouri-han worked on a while back and returned 'em a few days later," Heiji answered, eyeing the way Conan kept rubbing a hand over his chest.

"They accessed police archives_?_!" Hakuba exclaimed sharply. "That place has security cameras everywhere!"

"No," Conan answered around a wince at his sore ribs. "Just what they could… find at the Beika station."

"Hey you two, enough questions for now," Heiji said firmly. "Ya've talked enough," he said to the boy who gave him an annoyed look. "It's taking ya longer and longer to catch your breath each time ya talk to them." Conan rolled his eyes again but didn't argue.

Kaito looked up from his pout at Conan, taking in the increased speed of his tight breathing. "I didn't even notice. I'm sorry about tha…"

"It's fine…" Conan muttered, waving him off. "Just need… a break." He shot Heiji another annoyed look for pointing out the weakness. The Osakan just grinned brightly back, ignoring the shrunken detective's grouchy mood completely.

"Do ya have some cardboard and duct tape so I can cover that hole I made?" Heiji asked with an embarrassed blush pointing at the broken pane over the window's lock.

"Yeah, we've got some downstairs," Kaito said, pushing off the floor and making his way over the scattered mess to the door.

"Again, I'm really sorry," Heiji pleaded again, following after him.

"Don't worry, I don't blame you at all," Kaito said with a backward glance over his shoulder to the child in his bed. "You thought he was in trouble. I'm starting to think it happens a lot," he said with an exasperated sigh.

"That's right, you've been through some of it before too," Heiji said with a laugh following after him into the hall. Stuck in bed, it was Conan's turn to pout. "Say, I don't even know your name yet," Heiji's loud energetic voice reached them from down the hall.

"Kaito. Kuroba Kaito…" the thief's voice said faintly.

Finally supplied with a name, Conan grabbed his phone, searching online for an address. Finding it, he quickly included the information on a text to Jodie. Message sent, Conan's eyebrows knit together running the name through his mind. '_Where have I heard that name before?_' He gave an aggravated huff at his sluggish memory and reached up to rest his hands behind his head. An action that ended with cursed words and much wincing.

"Are you still in a great deal of pain?" Hakuba asked, leaving his chair to give Conan a closer once over.

"It's better… than yesterday," Conan muttered around the pain.

"And not a real answer," Hakuba pointed out, opening a drawer of Kaito's nightstand and rummaging through it.

"What are…" Conan stopped hearing the triumphant sound the blonde detective made, pulling a small white medicine bottle from the drawer.

"You and I both know what kind of messes he gets in during his heists," Hakuba said reading the directions on the back for child dosages. "Are you really surprised?" Conan stayed quiet, silently agreeing with him with a sage nod of his own. "Are you allergic to ibuprofen?" Conan shook his head lightly and held his hand out for the pill Hakuba handed him, swallowing it down with the water Kaito brought him earlier. Hakuba set the bottle on the nightstand and pulled Kaito's desk chair closer while he waited. "I suppose I should be arresting you," he muttered watching Conan's expression closely. Conan looked at Hakuba in confusion. "I doubt you had a warrant to retrieve that hard drive and Kuroba _did_ fly you to his house." Conan gave an exasperated sigh as his words of a week ago came back to him. "Don't worry, I have no plans to do so currently… Kudo-kun."

Conan gave him a light glare realizing he was being teased. "I'd appreciate it… if you not… get used to… that name. I already have… _them_ to deal with," he ground out with a nod to the door.

Hakuba gave him an understanding nod. "You would both be killed if anyone found out you were involved in that fire, Kuroba already explained everything to me, including his reasons for being involved," he said settling into a more somber mood. "Still, you went to that twit of a detective for help on all this?" he asked incredulously. "I'm surprised these people haven't found you already."

Conan gave a self-amused smirk at Hakuba's assessment of Heiji. "He… found me out," he wheezed out, "second time… we met."

Hakuba's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline at that. He sat silently for a while processing that bit of data. "Did it ever occur to you that there were plenty of people around you, police even, that would have helped you if you had explained the whole story to them?" he finally asked.

"Too dangerous…" Conan muttered.

"I think you have a bad habit of taking on too much by yourself," Hakuba mused with a sigh. Conan heaved an especially annoyed sigh at him and looked away pointedly. Hakuba bit back a grin at the childish behavior coming from the 'child.' He pushed his chair back, away from the boy hearing Heiji's loud voice calling Conan's name rushing down the hall.

"Kudo! Why didn't you tell me ya got one of their computers_?_!" Heiji demanded from the doorway. Behind him, Kaito caught up, roll of tape in hand and breathing hard. "That should'a been the first thing you told me!" he said stalking up to Conan. "We've got proof of what they've been up to and you're just letting it lie around_?_!"

Hakuba gave Kaito a sideways glance where he was leaning against the door. "What's wrong, I thought you were supposed to be some super athlete with that night job of yours."

"He scared me!" Kaito replied, tossing Hakuba his roll of tape. "And he's _really_ fast!"

Hakuba rolled his eyes at the thief and stepped around the Osakan still hell bent on his rant to Conan, ignoring them both, and taped a few layers of duct tape over the broken pane. "You may as well go get the hard drive and bring it here or he won't shut up," he said to Kaito still in the doorway. Kaito turned around and disappeared downstairs.

"What's that supposed to mean_?_!" Heiji growled. Hakuba neatly ignored him, checking his watch and walking out after Kaito leaving the detective of the west sputtering angrily behind him.

"Where're you going?" Kaito asked, shutting the door to the hidden workroom with a foot while his hands were full with the coat-wrapped drive.

"You only have a laptop in your room. What are you going to plug that into?"

"I've got everything I need in there," Kaito said, gesturing to the giant portrait behind him with his head.

"You know how to slave a drive?" Hakuba asked.

"I know what I'm doing," Kaito muttered, brushing past him.

"Fine, then while you set things up I'll go buy something for us to eat," Hakuba said continuing down the stairs to the front door.

"Huh?"

"It's 12:45. If we were still at school, we'd be at lunch right now," Hakuba replied over his shoulder, leaving by the front door.

"Oh, right. I forgot about that," Kaito mused to himself with a shrug and continued on his way upstairs.

/

Hakuba returned to a smattering of curses coming from Kaito's room, specifically from the thief himself. Spying Heiji pacing in the living room and talking low on his phone, he caught the Kansai detective's eye. He left a bento for him on the coffee table and left following the sounds of someone very upset with their computer. Upon entering the room, he dumped the plastic convenience store bag full of bento's in Conan's lap, bending hands on knees to look over Kaito's shoulder to where he had set up two computer towers and a monitor on the floor in his increasingly cluttered room. "Figures. You're running Windows?"

"No one asked you!" Kaito growled back, pulling up the task manager and reading the list of 'not responding' applications. "No. No, no, no, no! Don't! Why are you closing_?_! I'm not even using you!" he pleaded with the computer to no avail as everything on his monitor disappeared save a window informing him '_explorer_._exe_' needed to shut down and he had to wait for his desktop to reload. "You bitch! Why do you hate me today!" he wailed, ignoring the other two in the room lost in his private conversation with his computer.

"How long has he been trying to crack the drive?" Hakuba asked the boy watching from the bed behind them.

"Only… fifteen minutes," Conan said with a wide and very entertained grin.

"Never was very patient was he," Hakuba muttered.

"It's amusing. I've never… actually heard him… curse this much. Even when I… almost set him… on fire," Conan replied between gasps.

Hakuba raised an eyebrow at that, making a mental note to question the thief about it later. He looked over the first tower, raising an eyebrow at the sleek machine, aglow with a soft blue light from the cooling system visible through the clear side.

"How did you afford an alienware?" he asked, giving the machine an appreciative once-over.

"I _bought_ it," Kaito ground out through clenched teeth as the center of his screen was once more attacked with a warning window and loud beep. "I can go five minutes without stealing something, you know."

Hakuba gave him a curious studied look with a faint smirk. "That's not what I meant," he muttered, rolling his eyes at the touchy thief. He looked at the other much older second-hand tower. "You put the drive in that one and you're slaving in?"

"That was the idea. I'm not putting one of _their_ things anywhere near my baby," Kaito replied reaching out and patting the newer tower like a treasured pet. He threw his hands up under a new wave of cursing at yet another warning window. "Damn it! This should be working!" he whined in frustration.

"Is the drive too damaged?" Hakuba asked reaching forward to show the details on the warning window.

"I just can't get it to read," Kaito groused.

Hakuba leaned over the frustrated thief's shoulder and skimmed through the coding. "Are you an idiot? I thought you were smarter than this," he muttered in the irritating smugness of one who'd already solved the puzzle before anyone else.

"Either spit it out or go away," Kaito muttered staring at his command prompt.

Hakuba leaned down to the screen's level next to Kaito. "Your hard drive is formatted for Unix, not Windows genius," he said with a cheeky grin. From the bed, Conan muffled a snicker.

Kaito gave a low growl and shoved the keyboard away. "Damn it, I **hate** dealing with stupid Linux!" he groused, rolling backwards onto the floor to lay on his back in one fluid move.

"Too intellectual for you?" Hakuba asked serenely. Conan was chuckling quietly to himself.

"If you must know, most of the systems I've had the pleasure of cracking in the past run Windows like everyone else in the world," Kaito muttered in a definite pout.

"Well you're never going to read this drive at the rate you're going," Hakuba mused. He sat back on his heels checking his watch again. "I have to work at my father's office today. I promised to help file after class. After work, I'll bring my system and then we should finally be able to see what's on that drive."

"Great. Fine. I quit," Kaito muttered shutting down his computer and pulling the bag from Conan's side where the boy had shoved the extra bentos. He pulled out the small plastic covered box, the last one left and obviously his, glaring at Hakuba. "This is a kid's bento," he griped giving the blonde a murderous look.

"It's the only one they had without fish. Deal with it," Hakuba shot back, settling into his own meal. Conan gave them both an odd look and geared himself to ask as he rethought last night's conversation between Kaito and Aoko when the door swung open.

"Did he get in?" Heiji asked, pushing through the door, bento in hand and claiming a spot on the floor to continue eating. Across from him Kaito groaned and stabbed at his bento's omelet angrily.

"**No.**" Came the combined reply from Conan and Hakuba.

"Who were you speaking with?" Hakuba asked in mild curiosity.

"…uh… Ah! J-Just letting my dad know I was here," he replied shakily before he made answering further questions impossible by making sure his mouth was too busy shoveling more food in it. Hakuba raised an eyebrow at the over-obvious behavior. He cautioned a look at Conan on the bed. The boy detective was watching Heiji suspiciously but didn't say anything. He was trying to decide if he should say something to call the Osakan on his flimsy excuse when they all heard the loud squeal of breaking tires uncomfortably close by.

"Did that sound close 'cause I broke your window or is your mom home?" Heiji asked in a tense voice that was trying its hardest to sound light.

"My mother's in Paris. She won't be back for another week," Kaito answered in a low voice, slowly lowering his bento to the floor. He turned sharply on Hakuba next to him. "Did you lock the door when you came in?" he asked in a tight voice.

"…No," Hakuba muttered paling under Kaito's angry glare. Not waiting a second longer, Kaito shot out the door in a fluid motion taking a running jump from the hallway landing covering the stairs from top to bottom in a single leap and tucking roll, absorbing the impact from his bare feet. From the commotion in the hallway above him, he guessed Hakuba and the detective of the west were following after him. Not waiting, he dashed for the door. His hand had just grabbed the deadbolt's turn-latch when the doorbell sounded and he stilled, hand frozen, knowing whoever was on the other side of the door would hear him if he locked the door confirming that someone was in the house. He took a quick peek through the peephole. On his front step, a foreign-looking blonde woman stood looking down at what he could barely make out was her cell phone. He tried to get a look at what she had been driving but her body blocked his view of the driveway. Making a quick decision and hoping he wouldn't regret it, he dropped his grip on the lock and opened the door.

"Excuse me," the blonde woman with the most amazingly bad Japanese accent he had ever heard in his life said with a happy smile. "Is this the house of Kuroba Kaito-kun?"

"Uh… yes?" he replied cautiously, eyeing the beige coat and red sweater she was wearing which were definitely not black. "Can I help you?" he asked politely.

"Jodie Starling, FBI," she said holding up her badge and identification for him to read. Her coat swayed open slightly after she had pulled the i.d. from her breast pocket and he spied her side arm securely in its shoulder holster under her coat.

"FBI?" Kaito squeaked staring at the badge. He raked his memory trying to come up with some instance in which he could have possibly pissed off the American government. He was fairly sure he hadn't so maybe his father had. But it didn't matter because there was no way he could escape the agent standing in front of him in his school uniform without a single smoke bomb or flash grenade on his person. He was caught. For the first time in his life, Kaito felt his legs turn to jelly and drop him unceremoniously on the entryway floor.

"Oh my," the atrocious accent continued. "Are you alright?" the woman asked. Still stunned speechless, Kaito nodded mechanically. "I came here to see Conan-kun. Is he here?" she asked politely.

Kaito pointed to the ceiling over his head. "Upstairs," he answered softly.

"Thank you," the woman smiled. "Pardon my intrusion," she said as she blithely stepped around him and walked into his living room.

From behind him, Kaito watched Hakuba and Heiji come down the stairs, cautiously looking to see who was at the door. "Ah! Jodie-sensei!" Hattori greeted happily. "'What are you doing here?'" he continued in almost perfect unaccented English. Next to him, Hakuba gaped at the Osakan.

"'I'm here to see Conan-kun. He asked me to come by,'" she grinned up at him, switching to English herself.

"'Sure. Follow me,'" he grinned heading back up the stairs. Jodie followed after him giving Hakuba and Kaito a friendly nod as she walked past. "'I'm afraid he's stuck in bed or he would have come down to greet…'" Heiji's voice was lost after he rounded a corner upstairs leaving the detective and thief behind on the first floor.

"…Hakuba?" Kaito finally asked from the floor of the open doorway. "Are we in the twilight zone?"

Hakuba blinked several times, finally looking away from the hallway the two had disappeared down. "Yes. I do believe we are," he answered with finality. He walked up to the thief and offered him an arm up… which Kaito gladly took and closed the door tight, locking it.

Together, they walked up the stairs after Heiji. Hakuba gave Kaito a withering glare but said nothing as the thief pushed him ahead and hid himself as best he could behind the detective as they crept up to his bedroom door. He was forced to stop at the doorframe when Kaito dug in his heels. Through the cracked door they could just make out Heiji readjusting the mess of pillows behind Conan so the injured boy could sit-up straighter. "What's wrong?" Hakuba hissed in a stage whisper.

"The FBI is in _my room_!" Kaito hissed back unwilling to advance another step. Hakuba gave a low growl of aggravation and reached back to grab a handful of Kaito's school uniform and shoved him forward through the door. Jodie, Heiji, and Conan looked up in time to see Kaito tumble to the floor in the doorway while Hakuba stepped over him and gave his uniform a prim tug to straighten any wrinkles. Kaito scrambled to his feet and glared at the blonde but didn't leave the doorway to his room his body tensed and coiled ready to bolt.

"This is… Hakuba Saguru… and I guess you… met Kuroba… at the door," Conan mumbled around his laughter at the thief, which was short lived and quickly turned to a gasping hiss of pain but didn't stop Kaito from shifting his glare from Hakuba to Conan.

"Ah! I see," Jodie replied in the garbled Japanese she had spoken at the door. "It's nice to meet you," she said to the blonde who had commandeered the desk chair and the other boy who was shyly hanging in the doorway.

"Jodie-han," Heiji spoke up softly, "It's okay. These two know about '_them_'."

"I need them… read in," Conan added seriously, shifting his attention to the woman and completely ignoring Kaito who was glaring holes in the back of his head. "They've both become… involved. But I'll get back… to that later." He carefully shifted trying to find a more comfortable position for the sore muscles in his neck. "Have you already moved… on the favor I asked you?"

Jodie gave one last pensive look at the two newcomers and softly cleared her throat. "I've assigned tails to the two detectives like you asked but there may be a problem," she said, her earlier accented Japanese gone in place of perfect unaccented Japanese. Both Hakuba and Kaito stared at her wide-eyed, which she ignored in place of sitting at the edge of the bed and digging through her bag. She passed a handful of pictures to the boy who started rifling through them with Heiji hanging over his shoulder.

"We've spotted this woman coming and going from Detective Takagi's apartment. She always wears sunglasses and concealing clothing so we've been unable to i.d. her. She's been using public transit only and paying cash. We've tracked her to several government buildings within Minato," she said seriously.

Hakuba rolled the chair next to Heiji and studied the pictures closely. From the doorway, Kaito craned his neck to see but stubbornly refused to leave his spot.

Conan smiled at the pictures and handed them back. "It's okay… Jodie-sensei. She's a detective… from Nagano. If she's here… then she and her partner… must be working with… Takagi-keiji and Sato-keiji," he replied.

"Should I put them on surveillance only?" Jodie asked, tucking the photos back in her bag.

"For now," Conan sighed. "From what _she_… told me… Takagi-keiji and Sato-keiji… might come under… their attack. If it happens… I need your people… in place to extract them." At the door, Kaito tensed, eyes wide in astonishment at the implication behind Conan's words, watching the FBI woman and the Kansai detective blithely accept hearing Conan was in touch with one of the Black Organization's agents. His fingers dug into the wood of the doorway while he hesitated over asking.

"Do they know?" Hattori asked Conan, quietly serious.

Conan shook his head carefully, "Not yet. I'll need to… get in touch… with them soon. I still don't know… how much they know… or how deep they've gone," he muttered with a sigh of frustration.

"Who's 'she'?" Hakuba asked suddenly. From the doorway, Kaito trained his focus on Conan.

"Vermouth, code name 'Rotten Apple'," Jodie replied with a sigh. "One of their top assassins and master of disguise. There's only a handful of people who know what she truly looks like. Two are dead… and three are in this room."

"The one you told us about earlier? She spoke with you? Just offered the information that these detectives were in trouble?" Hakuba asked skeptically.

"Yeah, she always does things like that," Heiji piped up. "She likes him," he said giving Conan a good cheek pinching, which he angrily slapped away. "I don't get it either."

"Can we talk… about that later?" Conan muttered, rubbing his sore cheek and shooting Heiji an angry glare.

Jodie cleared her throat conspicuously. "You said you needed to speak to me in person about something sensitive?" she said to the small boy.

Conan gave a nod and looked over to Kaito still hovering in the doorway. "Hattori… can you and Hakuba… wait outside?" he asked quietly.

Heiji held Conan's gaze reading the serious look in his eyes. "Okay," he said softly. He walked over to Hakuba and plucked at his shoulder. "Come on," he muttered standing aside and waiting for Hakuba to stand up. Hakuba gave Kaito a questioning look who looked terrified at the thought of being left alone with the FBI agent and kept shifting his vision between the woman and Conan. He followed Hattori out into the hall where the Osakan gave Kaito a firm shove, pushing him into the bedroom, and closed the door behind him.

"Guess we wait," Heiji sighed settling himself on the floor opposite the door. Hakuba leaned against the wall next to him and crossed his arms over his chest, ready to wait patiently.

/

Kaito whirled on Heiji only to find himself facing a closed door. Left alone with the FBI agent sitting on his bed… and Kudo, he slowly turned around trying very hard not to cringe. From the bed, Conan pointed to the chair Hakuba had recently vacated and Kaito sat down gingerly, ready to jump up again at the first sight of handcuffs.

Conan rolled his eyes at Kaito's tense posture and turned back to Jodie who was quietly watching them with a hand over her mouth hiding her grin. "Jodie-sensei… may I present… Phantom Thief 1412," Conan said grandly with a wave of his arm to Kaito. Jodie's eyes went wide staring at the pale teenage boy gripping his knees tightly but holding her gaze steadily.

"You_?_!" she asked quietly, staring at Kaito. Kaito gave a tight nod.

"He's going to be… both an informant… and a witness… against the organization," Conan said. "I need him… pardoned. Can you… do it?" he asked drawing Jodie's attention back.

Next to him, Kaito gaped at Conan. "You mean it?" he asked incredulously, grabbing onto Conan's shoulder. Conan flashed him that arrogant snarky grin he knew so well.

"I know…" Jodie replied, her eyes sliding back to the teenager. "I mean… Kuroba, of course. I… yes, I can do it."

Both Conan and Kaito stared at her stammering fit. "Jodie-sensei?" Conan ventured carefully.

"Your father… was he Toichi-san?" Jodie asked hesitantly. Conan's eyes widened in recognition of the name, turning to Kaito for confirmation.

"…Yes," Kaito answered leaning forward. "Do… Did you know my dad?"

"No. No, it was before my time." Jodie kept staring at Kaito, her gaze looking him up and down. "But I know someone who would want to meet you," she said seriously. "Is it alright if I bring someone here?" she asked looking back and forth between the two boys. Conan looked over at Kaito and Kaito caught the hint. It was his choice. Slowly, he gave Jodie a cautious nod.

"Okay," she said with a quiet smile. "I'll be back tomorrow with paperwork you'll need to sign," she told Kaito.

"Do you need any details about what I know?" Kaito asked hesitantly.

"I think I have a good idea," she smiled graciously at the nervous boy. She stood up and slung her purse over a shoulder while holding out a hand to Kaito; he quickly reached out to shake her offered hand. "'Cool Kid' already gave me your phone number and I'll be bringing James with me tomorrow. We can talk about everything then, okay?" For the first time since she had arrived, Kaito gave a slight smile to the cheery woman. "Was there anything else we needed to talk about?" she asked Conan.

"It can wait… for tomorrow," Conan grinned. "Thank you," he said with a meaningful emphasis and gestured with his head toward Kaito.

/

Heiji and Hakuba looked up at the door opening and Jodie gave them both a friendly smile. Hakuba instantly looked past her at Kaito sitting in the desk chair slumped forward with his face buried in his hands. Once he heard Heiji offer to walk the FBI woman to the door, he slipped back into the room where Kaito was speaking with Conan in a low voice.

"Kuroba, is everything alright?" he asked interrupting whatever quiet conversation the two were having.

Kaito flashed him an easy grin. "Yeah, everything is fine," he said happily. "Everything is great." He gave Hakuba a happy clap on the shoulder and left the room leaving the two detectives alone. Hakuba directed his questioning look at Conan. Conan gave him a tired grin.

"As of tomorrow… Kaitou Kid will be a… federal witness against the… Black Organization and under… FBI protection," Conan told him in a tired but very satisfied voice. "I'm sorry… but neither of us… will be arresting him… any time soon." Hakuba absorbed the information quietly.

"And you're going to be satisfied with that, _Kudo-kun_?" Hakuba asked simply.

"Yes. I am," Conan muttered between gritted teeth while he readjusted himself higher on the pillows having slumped down into an uncomfortable position. "Once the organization… is taken down… and the side project of theirs… Kuroba will be informing on… is taken care of… there won't be… a need for Kaitou Kid. His father's killers… will be in jail… and he can have… his life back."

Hakuba reached down and quietly helped him fix his position. Grabbing the bottle of ibuprofen from Kaito's nightstand, he handed Conan a pill and his glass of water and waited for Conan to swallow the pill. He sat down on the chair and waited for Conan to continue.

"…Knowing everything… I do now," Conan continued. "I can't say… I wouldn't have been tempted… to do the same thing… or something similar… to find who had… killed one of my parents… or Ran. He used the only… opportunity open to him… to find his father's killers… and bring them to justice… and did his very best… to make sure no one else… was hurt in the process. He shouldn't have to… lose everything for that."

"He still committed many crimes," Hakuba replied.

"I know," Conan said. "I'm sure it won't be… a smooth ride for him. It's up to the bureau now… to see how much… they can do for him… or if he'll get… a full pardon. I guess we'll… find out tomorrow," he said with a tired smile. Hakuba gave him a nod and sat back in the chair quietly letting the exhausted boy rest.

* * *

Balancing the tall stack of cardboard file boxes, Hakuba pushed the heavy door to Archives open with his back.

"Su-chan, helping your father again?" a young woman called out from behind the information desk. She hurriedly turned the volume down on the small television keeping her company behind the counter. "What've you got for me today?"

"Yasue-san," Hakuba nodded standing on tip-toe to rest the heavy boxes on the high counter. "I really wish you wouldn't call me that."

"And miss out on embarrassing you? Never!" the jovial clerk grinned leaning over the counter to muss his hair. Hakuba swatted her hand away with a practiced hand. Sitting back in her chair, she pulled a pen from the coffee mug full of pencils and pens on the bookshelf behind her. "You know the drill," she muttered handing him the pen.

Hakuba pulled the clipboard on the counter closer and quickly signed in.

"Just leave 'em on the table over there," she sighed looking back to her soap opera.

"That's all right. I'll file them myself," Hakuba muttered, hefting the stack of boxes off the counter.

"You know civilians aren't allowed past…"

Hakuba balanced the boxes carefully and pulled out the long thin box of chocolate truffles from his jacket pocket and slid them across the counter to Yasue's waiting hands.

"Right. Have fun with that," she muttered tearing into the box. "Just be out of here before anyone sees you."

Hakuba gave a nod and left her to her soaps commandeering a book cart for his boxes and pushed into the aisles of steel shelving full of boxes labeled with case numbers. He pushed deep into the middle of Archives to his favorite table well out of Yasue's sight and started opening boxes. He sighed at the unorganized mess of documents his father had probably just chucked into boxes without rhyme or reason like he always did. With a long-suffering sigh, he started the long arduous task of sorting and skimming through police reports as he worked.

/

Hakuba pushed the sliding ladder into place and trudged up to pull down yet another box, one with a familiar case number, the archived files for the now infamous Touto Tower Disaster. Box in hand, he carried it to his table and the old computer he had been using to add files to the computerized index.

After logging the latest stack of processed paperwork, he opened the box to add files as he read through them, the last of the tower disaster paperwork still in circulation after his father's order to classify the case, a decision he certainly didn't agree with. And now armed with the inside knowledge about the case he had learned from Kuroba, he carefully read each witness statement, committing each to memory.

Near the middle of his stack of paperwork, he came across a hardcopy of an emailed memo. He had only to read the first couple of lines when he came to the realization he had read the memo before. Just to be sure, he read through the memo in its entirety. He frowned in puzzlement; he had already logged a copy of the memo last week, the memo ordering the Touto Disaster classified. Although the email he had logged before had been issued by his father and his father's office. The memo in his hands was signed and issued by the police superintendent's office, Matsumoto Kiyonaga. With a confused frown, he pulled the box of paperwork onto the chair next to him to look for the earlier memo, just to be sure.

Once he dug past the latest files he had just dropped into the box, he was met with the old police reports he had logged over a week ago written within hours of the helicopter attack. Each report was filled with line after line of solid black lines, obscuring any vital information the paperwork might have had, blackout lines that hadn't been there when he had read and filed them. The cursory report on the remains of the helicopter was completely blacked out. With a chill running up his back, he started rifling through papers looking for the original memo. When he finally hit the cardboard bottom of the box, it was clear the page was missing.

The silence of the large subbasement suddenly felt very unnerving and Hakuba caught himself looking around to make sure he was alone. Convinced Yasue was still engrossed in her soap opera at the archives' entrance, he slipped back to the computer and searched his memory for the original memo's serial number. A quick search on the computer came up with the flat response of 'no such file.' Confused and more than a little creeped out, he wandered back to the box of censored reports and the stack of unread paperwork on the table. No doubt, the new paperwork would be censored by _someone_ soon.

With another quick glance around to make sure he was alone and knowing full well he couldn't escape the security cameras high above him on the ceiling, Hakuba made a quick decision and dug out all the new paperwork he had just filed from the box. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he took to using his camera function and carefully documenting each report and memo into his phone's memory. His eyes widened as he came across another memo ordering the helicopter remains be moved from evidence to a private investigation company he had never heard of being quite familiar with all the outside agencies the Tokyo police department used. Again, another memo sent from the superintendent's office. He made sure to get a clear picture of the company's address.

"Are you just about done in there, Hakuba-kun?" Yasue called from somewhere down one of the archive's aisles and getting closer. Startled, Hakuba quickly dumped the paperwork into and shut the box and hurriedly placed it back on its shelf.

"…yes… Yes, I'm finished," he called back in what he hoped was a steady voice. He darted to the computer and hurriedly set it back to its generic search screen and had just enough time to put distance between himself and the device when Yasue started down his aisle.

"You were taking longer than usual," Yasue said with a cheery smile, "You weren't reading those files were you? You know those files are for government employee eyes only. Civilians aren't meant to read those, unless you're packing Godiva somewhere on you."

"Oh, I know, I know," Hakuba replied busying himself with stacking his now empty boxes. "…um… my father just… sent more to be archived than usual," he said, avoiding looking directly at Yasue. Unfamiliar with lying, he prayed he wasn't betraying anything on his face. "He… had a lot more that was almost ready for archiving so I'll probably see you tomorrow, Yasue-san."

Yasue eyed him oddly. "That father of yours is such a workaholic," she finally said with a dismissive smile. Hakuba flashed her a quick polite smile and beat a hasty retreat, carrying his load of empty boxes back up to his father's office. As soon as the doors to Archives swung shut, Yasue moved to the nearby computer and typed in the admin login. A few quick commands and a list of the most recent searches was pulled up. Yasue pulled up the command prompt and deleted the record of Hakuba's search. Deed done, Yasue pulled out her cell phone.

* * *

"Hey, wake up already!"

Conan woke up to Kaito gently shaking his shoulder. "What?" he mumbled blearily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He blinked in surprise, staring at the late evening sky through Kaito's window.

"You passed out after that FBI agent left," Kaito explained, wedging an arm under him and repositioning him flat on the bed. "Think you can manage a pillow this time?" With Conan's nod, he lifted the boy just high enough to get a pillow under him. "It looks like it hurt less this time. Are you feeling better?"

Conan blinked several times mulling it over for the first time that day. "Actually, I do feel a lot better," he said with a relieved grin.

"Talking doesn't bother you anymore?" Kaito asked in surprise.

Conan narrowed his eyes in concentration, studying his own breathing pattern. "It's easier to breathe lying straight like this. What time is it? And where did Hattori and Hakuba go?"

"It's almost seven. Hakuba left for work hours ago and Hattori left to get his things, from that inventor friend of yours house I think," Kaito answered picking up what little trash from their lunch had been left behind to throw away downstairs and picking up the occasional bit of dirty laundry with his toes and flinging it into his closet.

"Hattori, huh?" Conan mused. "Sounds like you're getting along."

"He's a pretty laid-back guy," Kaito replied, grabbing Conan's empty glass. "But he was really worried about you 'cause of that fire so try to lighten up and not to be so grouchy, 'kay?" Conan crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. "I'll be back with more water."

Conan watched him go, leaving the door open behind him and the faint sound of conversation. He strained his ears trying to make out who Kaito was speaking with but the voice was just too faint. "Is someone here?" he asked when Kaito came back through the door.

"Yeah, for you actually," Kaito muttered with heavy mock sigh, setting the glass on the chair again. "She even made me wake you up. Said you'd be awake all night if I didn't. He's all yours," he called into the hallway.

Aoko popped around the doorway and gave Conan a happy smile. "Conan-kun! You look so much better today!"

"Ah, A-Aoko-neechan," he stumbled as his face lit up in a bright red blush, his memory choosing that instant to assail him with images of his forced bath the night before. Behind her, Kaito was biting back his laughter at the boy's obvious discomfort as he leaned against the doorway.

"I brought my Detective Samonji season one," she said with excited cheer having finally found someone to fan girl with. "And this," she pulled her arm out from behind her back with the over-exaggerated flair of an adult trying to amuse and enthuse a small child, "…is Mr. Houdini," she said with the practiced ease of long-time use for the foreign name.

Conan gulped at the giant fluffy white teddy bear in a satiny black tux and tails that was almost as big as he, a small part of him wondering how she had actually hidden it behind her back, and looked up at Aoko's smiling face with a _very_ amused Kaito just behind her. Swallowing his irritation at the thief watching him, and more than a few choice words, he looked up at Aoko all chipper joy and twinkling smiles. "Yay! Detective Samonji!" He held out his open arms to Aoko expectantly and she moved the teddy bear into his waiting embrace giggling at the way the bear seemed to swallow him up leaving only his happily closed eyes and a tuft of his hair visible. From the doorway, Kaito broke down into out right laughter and Conan hid a growl against the plush animal's chest.

"I'll start the first disc," Aoko grinned, pulling the first thin dvd case from the box and dumping the rest on Kaito's futon on the floor. "You may go. We don't need your kind here," she told Kaito in an imperious voice, grabbing a still snickering Kaito roughly by the arm and forcing him out into the hallway with a shove and mock kick at his ankles. "Go do your homework. I'll have to turn in your late work tomorrow if you're going to be busy babysitting again."

Kaito took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds to control the temptation to start laughing anew at the death glare Conan was sending him with what little ability he had to look at the thief over the teddy bear that was absolutely dwarfing him. He really needed a picture to remember this. "We're not doing our trig together?" he asked, genuinely surprised, once he had his laughter under control, at the break in their tradition.

"I already did my homework. It would have cut into our marathon time," she returned haughtily, sticking her tongue out at him playfully and grabbing hold of the doorknob.

"You're abandoning me for that katana-dork detective and a second-grader_?_!" he whined in exaggerated scandalized flare. "I never knew you were a shota-con!" he finished, leaning away with an overly dramatic arm over his eyes.

"Goodbye, Kaito!" she sang sweetly, sticking her tongue out at him again and shutting his door in his face.

"This is mutiny!" he yelled back against the shut door despite the fact that the corner of his mouth kept twitching upward. "It's _my_ room!"

"You have four hours to finish six days of skipped classes. You better hurry," she called back through the door, still in her sing-songy voice. Somewhat muffled, he heard the start of her beloved show's theme song on his television set.

"Just one last thing," he called through the door, digging into his pocket for his cell phone and flipping it open.

"What already! Go away!" she yelled back.

Kaito quickly flung open the door and the room was lit with a sudden flash, Conan blinking hard and scrubbing his eyes with one arm while the other still hugged the massive teddy bear. "That," he said, giving Conan a wide impish grin and shut the door just as quickly before the shrunken detective could find something hard to throw at him.

/

"Are you okay?" Aoko asked, leaning against Kaito's bed on her knees watching Conan blink hard several times to encourage the color negative spots in his vision to go away. "That was mean of him, I know. Just say the word and he'll be ducking my mop."

"It's okay, Aoko-neechan," Conan chirped through gritted teeth while he entertained his murderous thoughts very _very_ deep in the back of his mind. He tugged the surprisingly heavy bear as best he could off and next to him against the wall. "You named your bear after a magician? You didn't think the name was hard to say?"

"When we were little, Kaito used to go on and on about all the cool stuff Harry Houdini could do," Aoko answered making herself comfortable lying reversed on Kaito's futon on her stomach with his pillow tucked under her chest and socked feet swinging in the air to keep them off of the end of the bed Kaito's face would be lying in. "I used to tease him that he should marry him. Believe me, it was a very familiar name."

"But you named him that anyway?" Conan pressed genuinely curious.

"When we were eight, Kaito tried to 'levitate' me. I wound up in the hospital with a broken leg. He was so scared, he thought my dad was gonna put him in jail," she answered with a self-amused giggle. Conan watched her with a much more sober expression from his pillowed vantage on the bed. "He gave that to me at the hospital, bought me that bear with his own allowance, too. He just looked so guilty and I swear he was about to start crying 'cause he thought I was gonna 'hate him forever.' I just _had_ to give him that name." She snuggled deeper into the fluffy futon and pillow taking a deep breath of the lingering scent of Kaito's body wash clinging to the pillowcase. "Since then, it's kind of been a tradition to pass Houdini back and forth whenever one of us gets hurt."

Conan watched her quietly, casting a furtive glance at the two small shadows he could see through the gap under the door. "I'll take good care of him then, Aoko-neechan," he promised to the back of her carelessly wind-blown hair. The two shadows at the door silently walked away.

"So are we gonna talk all night or are we gonna watch the best detective show ever," she replied in a sweetly merry voice.

Conan returned a genuine happy smile at the prospect of spending an evening watching his favorite show with no complaining Kogoro to mar the experience. "Raise the volume," he answered happily, determined to forget everything for the next few hours.

"That's the spirit!" Aoko cheered back, upping the volume until their favorite detective's voice filled the house despite the closed door.

/

Hearing the knock on the door, Kaito set his pencil down and stretched. A quick check through the peephole and he opened the door to a Hakuba staggering under the weight of the computer tower he was carrying. "Where can I put this?" Hakuba demanded, glaring at Kaito who had yet to move out of the way.

"Sorry. Here." Kaito lifted the computer out of his hands giving him the chance to wring feeling back into his fingers. His eyes went wide at the surprising weight. "What are you carrying in here_?_!"

"It's a Voodoo Firebird and I rebuilt it to carry a terabyte and a half of space," Hakuba muttered flexing blood back into his fingers.

"Right," Kaito muttered shifting his hold on the heavy tower. "What are you doing with this? Running your own server?" Hakuba ignored him giving him a pointed stare for the thief to move and let him in the house rather than keep standing conspicuously on the front stoop.

Kaito backed into the house, Hakuba following after. He stared up at the ceiling hearing the muffled background music of a television and a set of voices cheering, one of the voices decidedly feminine. "Who's…"

"Aoko and 'Conan-kun' are watching one of her box sets," he muttered standing in the hallway and staring at his father's portrait, wondering if he actually _could_ press the upper corner with his foot. "She took over my room so this'll have to wait for later." He passed his weight from one foot to the next while his mind tried to process how he could actually go about trying to hit the release button.

"What are you trying to do, Kuroba?" Hakuba asked in curiosity.

"Uhh… can you press the top right corner of this picture?" Kaito asked in desperation. Hakuba looked at him askance but pressed on the picture anyway. The secret door swung open and Kaito quickly walked through, eager to set the heavy tower down on the room's worktable. Behind him, Hakuba hung in the doorway, looking down the stairs carefully. "It's safe to come in. Nothing's gonna explode on you," he called over his shoulder.

"Almost two years of trying to find this place," Hakuba murmured mostly to himself. "I never imagined you'd be inviting me in one day." He stepped down into the room cautiously, studying the aluminum bookcases of plastic bins neatly labeled with what type of police torturing device they held along with rolls of architectural blueprints for buildings all over Tokyo, most of them looking extremely old. He pulled out one for the Tocho complex he had just left and raised an eyebrow as he turned the pages, floor by floor, each neatly labeled in red pencil for each security camera location and circled locations for security blind spots in the building. The short notes in the margins were written in a hand he didn't recognize which he assumed to be Kuroba's father's handwriting. Out of curiosity, he turned to the building's sub-basement he had just spent the last three hours in and slowly studied the floor plans for the three floors that was Archives.

Satisfied, and with the beginnings of a plan, he set the blueprint back on the shelf he took it from and caught his sight on the dusty radio/cassette player on an equally dusty stool next to the bookshelf. The tape deck was open and a ninety-minute cassette sat in a tangled mess of magnetic tape. He carefully lifted the tape out of it dark brown nest, studying the impressive way the tape had tangled itself around the spinning drums that fed it over the magnetic reader.

"Don't pull on that!" Kaito called out, finally noticing what had captured Hakuba's attention. Hakuba let go of the tape in surprise and Kaito caught it before it could fall far and pull the tangled mess tighter. He set the tape back in the open deck with reverent care.

"I'm sorry, Kuroba," Hakuba said quietly watching the thief draw a deep sigh that the tape was safe. "I shouldn't have been messing with your things."

"…It's okay," Kaito said, staring at the player sadly. "It's… the message my dad left for me when I found this place. It didn't play very far before it turned out like this," he said with a rueful smile at the tangled mess.

"You never tried to untangle it?" Hakuba asked, watching Kaito carefully while the thief ran a light finger along the edge of the open cassette window.

"…no…" Kaito said finally. "If I did, it's like the last bit of him left would finally be gone." With a sniffle disguised as a hard swallow, he pushed Hakuba toward the stairs. "Lets go," he said pushing the detective ahead of him and out of the secret room. "I still have a lot of work to finish and the last thing I need is for Aoko to see us climbing out of a wall."

"I take it we won't be able to work on that drive tonight," Hakuba said waving off Kaito's hands firmly and walking out of the hidden door on his own.

"Doubt it," Kaito muttered walking back to his waiting homework.

"Then we'll do it tomorrow morning. Just plan on staying home tomorrow," Hakuba ordered, leaving Kaito to his homework and heading for the door.

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "The high and mighty Hakuba is planning on ditching?"

"Whatever we do with that drive, I need us to be finished by the time school is over, earlier if possible. I have something to look into tomorrow afternoon," he answered coolly.

"Fine. Whatever," Kaito muttered turning back to the wonderful world of defining inverse functions. "Don't you have homework from today to do? And how about the days you missed stalking…"

"You mean _investigating_ you and Conan-kun? _I_ kept up with it each day," he said giving the thief a pitying look at the stacks of textbooks on the coffee table. "If you were smart, you would have too. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Kaito grabbed one of the throw pillows on the couch behind him and hurled it after Hakuba into the hallway. "Jerk," he muttered under his breath hearing the front door close.

* * *

"Saguru-bouchan. What are you doing in your father's office at such an hour? You have class tomorrow."

Hakuba looked up sharply at the elderly woman wrapped in a fluffy pink robe standing in the doorway of his father's cluttered office from behind the computer for a moment before returning his attention back to the monitor. "Please go back to sleep, I'll be done shortly," he said to his baaya, watching him with a sharp eye.

"Why aren't you using your own computer? You know your father's computer is off limits to you. He has work sensitive information there," she scolded.

"I had to take my computer in," Hakuba said, neatly circumventing _actually_ lying to her. "I promise I won't disturb anything related to his work," he said pushing his phone a little further under the newspaper his father had left on the desk with the back of his wrist during a smooth move with the mouse. Aware that his caretaker and housekeeper had no intention of leaving the room until he did, he set the pictures he had taken in Archives earlier to print. He retrieved his stack of warm freshly printed papers with one hand while his other disconnected the usb from his phone and returned it to his pocket hidden by the monitor between him and his watcher. He closed the document he had pasted the pictures to without saving and shut down the computer, shoving the papers into his school satchel. "Just an article I need to read for an assignment," he lied seeing his caretaker's suspicious gaze following him out the door.

"Nevertheless, I plan to inform your father when he gets home," she said closing the room's door behind him and locking the room. "Your detective work aside, your father has a very important position and responsibility in this city and you will not behave in any way unbecoming that station, Saguru-bouchan."

"It's not like he'll be home long enough to say anything to me about it," he muttered to himself walking down the dark dimly lit hallway to the stairs in the lonely wing of the house. After all, there was really no need to turn on lights in such a large mansion with only two people in it that used just the same handful of rooms.

Safely in his room, he punched holes in the papers and hid them in the center of his school binder, padded on each side within a thick section of notebook paper and replaced the binder in his satchel buckling it closed. Laying back in his bed, he stared at the gabled ceiling and thought over his plans for the next day. His vision kept drifting back to his school bag and the binder hiding the copies of the records he'd copied. Grumbling to himself about his own mounting paranoia, he finally got up and retrieved the incriminating binder and shoved it under his pillow for the night. "Damn those idiots, I'm going batty," he muttered climbing in bed and turning off his bedside lamp.

* * *

"I can't believe you're taller than me," Kaito complained, staring at how high his pajamas rode over Heiji's ankles.

"Don't worry about it. My stuff's kind of baggy on Kudo, too," Heiji said off-handedly lying back on the extra futon Kaito had dug out of his mother's closet. Kaito's expression changed to one of confusion looking over at the very _small_ child in his bed.

"Yes. _Thanks_, Hattori. Thanks for pointing that out," Conan muttered at the implied insult to his normal size's lack of height. "Now shut up about it and go to sleep," he ordered testily and pulled the blankets up over his head to drown out the noise and light in the room.

"Don't go to sleep yet, you need to take another one of these," Kaito said poking at Conan's head until he resurfaced and dropped another ibuprofen in his hand. "I've already turned these on in case you need them," he said laying the headphones on the bed next to Conan in the lap of the massive teddy bear sitting against the wall. The boy gave a curt but grateful nod back, swallowing the pill and setting his water back down.

"What are those for?" Heiji asked propping himself up on an elbow.

"Nothing," Conan answered back a little too quickly with a burn of red dusting his nose. Heiji raised an eyebrow switching his attention to Kaito for an answer.

"He's stalking his girlfriend," he answered, lying down with a relaxed sigh of his own in his futon after the exhausting day.

"Kuroba!"

"And what's with the bear?" Heiji asked innocently. A deep red blush crept up Conan's face to the tips of his ears and he slowly turned his eyes to Kaito with a small tight shaking of his head. A slow Cheshire cat grin spread over Kaito's face realizing exactly what the boy was asking. His hand shot into the pocket of his pants still lying on the floor, pulling out his cell phone.

"You wouldn't believe the most _adorable_ picture I took today," Kaito drawled out leaning his hand over for Heiji to inspect his new wallpaper.

"You're sending me that," Heiji replied instantly.

"Shut. up. both of you or I'll smother you both in your sleep," the crabby voice from the bed ordered in no uncertain terms.

"You can barely move," Kaito pointed out, dropping his phone in Heiji's hands for the Osakan detective to transfer the picture himself.

"I'll figure it out."

"Try it and I'm sending this to 'Neechan," Heiji muttered back, well used to the small detective's moodiness and keeping silent on the fact that he had already texted the picture to Ran.

"Is he always this crabby or is it _me_ he doesn't like?" Kaito whispered to Heiji while he nestled further under his blankets.

"Nah, he's always like that," Heiji muttered back in a low voice, pulling on his cap and tugging it down over his eyes, settling into his borrowed futon and pillow, "unless you're 'Neechan. You get used to it."

"I can _do_ 'Neechan," Kaito whispered back with just the right inflection of timber that had Heiji lifting his cap slightly and giving the thief an amused grin at the familiar feminine tone.

"I _can_ hear you," Conan growled from the bed in a tired voice. "Go to sleep or I'll dart you."

"Kudo, you're not wearing it," Heiji muttered, dropping the cap down again and turning on his side, intent on following the diminutive detectives order and getting some decent rest after the hellish couple of days of worry he'd already spent on the brat.

"And I, kind of, already used it on Hakuba," Kaito followed.

Conan eyed him with a raised eyebrow from the bed for a moment before shifting his gaze back to the ceiling. "I don't even wanna know," he muttered, "Just go to sleep."

"Yes, sir," Kaito murmured sarcastically grabbing the nearest thing he could reach, one of his house slippers, and winging it at the light switch. "Control-freak," he mumbled under his breath as the room plunged into darkness.

From the bed, a teddy bear came flying at his face with perfect aim, despite the darkness. Without missing a beat, Kaito pulled the fluffy thing that smelled pleasantly of peach blossom shampoo into a hug against his chest and turned over facing the door with his back to the now very peeved not-child. "Mr. Houdini's too good for you anyway," he muttered curling around the fluffy bear. "'night," he mumbled to his two houseguests neither of which answered, one already deeply asleep and the other out of rebellious stubbornness.

/

Conan glared at the shadows the tree outside Kaito's window was casting on the ceiling. Despite his insistence on the two 'distractions' going to bed so he could get some rest, he was still completely wide-awake. Glancing down, he could just make out the elbow of Heiji's far-side arm that he had tucked under his head where he slept on his back, snoring lightly and Kaito, from what he could make out in the shadows, had his back to him. He hadn't moved an inch in the last forty minutes, which Conan knew for a fact since he kept checking what time it was on his cell. It was probably safe to say the thief was sound asleep too.

Giving up, Conan slowly, carefully, rolled onto his stomach with a minimal amount of whispered curses and dropped himself over the edge of the bed, grabbing his phones out of habit. Properly standing on his own two feet unassisted for the first time in days, he held onto the bedside chair until he was sure his legs would carry him. Finding himself staring at the stack of books, he gave the sleeping Kaito a self-amused snort and grabbed the Night Baron hardback off the top of the stack, tucking it under his arm as he made his way carefully to the bedroom door over the combined minefield of clutter on the floor from Kaito's relocation from his usual bedding and Heiji's added backpack of things. Quietly, he stole out into the hallway, his ribs very glad Kaito had left the door open as reaching for it would have hurt, a lot.

From his futon, Kaito opened an eye and watched Conan creep out into the hallway. Silently, he leaned out of his bed to peek after the boy, watching him make his way holding onto the wall with a free hand. Conan stiffly made his way to the hall restroom, turning on the nightlight and pulling the door just short of closed. He gave Heiji a quick glance to make sure the detective of the west was really sleeping and crawled out of bed after Conan. Through the crack in the door, he watched Conan pull a towel from the towel rack to fashion a makeshift pillow and carefully lay himself down on one of the fluffy bathroom mats on his back, settling the book on his stomach, ready to start reading. He gave the boy a last small grin and backed himself into his room to sleep.

/

Conan studied the cover of the heavy novel resting on his belly one more time under the dim lights of the numerous nightlights Kaito had plugged into every low plug in the bathroom. Truly it _was_ the only thing his father had written that he had _not_ read and he _could_ grudgingly admit his reasons _were_ rather petty. He opened the book to its title page and the square of paper he'd discovered earlier fell to his chest. Balancing the book with a hand, he picked up the note and opened it, studying his father's handwriting. It's twin, still in the old leather wallet, was sitting at the bottom of a drawer in his old bedroom. The corner of his mouth twitched up remembering the adventure he'd dragged Ran on thanks to that note. He made a mental note to dig it out the next time Ran dragged him on their monthly cleaning trip to his house. Kaito would likely enjoy having it more than he. He set the scrap of paper safely on the floor next to him and opened the book to the first chapter.

/

He was barely one-fourth through the book when he put it down across his chest, wide-eyed and his hands quivering in adrenalin rushed panic, his chest tight from his hitched breathing. The story, his father's book, had a frighteningly familiar plot. Night Baron, a criminal and master thief in his own right, had uncovered a mysterious shadowy group of criminals working from the deep underground in his city searching, not for a jewel, but a mystical relic that could bring great power to its wielder. The differences were there, but most of the main points were far too close to be simple coincidence.

Using his finger to mark his place, he shut the book and stared at the front cover to study the book's title. The rest of the series carried the simple main title of 'Night Baron,' but the first ten special editions of volume one still bore the original working title of 'The Adventures of the Great Night Baron!' He ran a finger lightly over the exclamation point, tracing his father's handwriting. With a searching hand, he pulled up the folded piece of paper and held open the square next to the book's title. '_No way! There's no way… right?_'

He opened the book to the publication information. Book one had come out nine years ago, the year after Kuroba Toichi's death… and Kaito had mentioned he received one every year on his birthday. Now that he thought about it, his father did release a Night Baron novel every year, in June if he remembered right, like clockwork, the _only_ book he ever managed to keep his deadlines for. On a hunch, he brought the book close to his nose and took an experimental sniff. It was faint, but he could just make out the scent of perfume over the musty smell of paper and ink… an all too familiar perfume from the number of tight entrapping hugs he'd received in his lifetime.

With a growing frown, he traced his finger over the publication date and stared at the bathroom ceiling deep in thought. Kaito had said his father was killed ten years ago. He closed his eyes trying to search his memory. That winter…he had a sudden memory of a strange night when his mother had received a phone call late at night, or late to him at the time, and hung up the phone crying. He vaguely remembered his parents having a rushed conversation and he was bundled up to sleep at Agasa's that night and wound up spending the entire following day at the professor's home as well. That had to be the night. He'd also been shuffled off to Agasa's for another sleepover and day of seeing neither parent later that week. '_That must have been the day of the funeral,_' he mused. He'd finally been allowed to come home that night and he remembered being anxious to ask his parents what was going on but they had spent the rest of that night after the funeral in his father's library arguing about something. When he had walked in on them, they had ordered him straight to bed, all but pushing him out the door, and locked it firmly once he was out in the hallway. He never had received an explanation about the weirdness that week and he gradually noticed how his mother would tear up every time he asked so he had eventually stopped asking. His father had started his first manuscript for Night Baron a few weeks after that. It was with a queer feeling that he reopened the book and turned to the table of contents, studying the titles for anything out of the ordinary.

After carefully getting up off the floor, a job that took more effort than he'd imagined after his muscles had stiffened lying on the cold tile, he'd scrounged an eyeliner pencil from a drawer that he _hoped_ belonged to Kaito's mother and confiscated the roll of toilet paper for scratch work. A cursory study of the chapter titles had revealed a definite pattern of alternating question mark and exclamation point ending titles, but so far no cipher, anagram, or encryption pattern he'd tried so far had found anything hidden. He shut the book and set it aside, leaning back against the cabinets of the sink vanity.

It was in that moment that his forgotten cell phone started ringing, incredibly loudly considering the silence of night. He scrambled to answer the phone as quickly as possible before he could wake up Heiji or Kaito. He even quite forgot that the phone he was answering sans bowtie… was Kudo's.

"Hello?" he answered slightly rushed and rubbing the sore junction between his shoulder and neck.

"_Kudo-kun! It's been a while. How ya doin'?_"

Conan's eyebrows shot into his hairline in surprise. "Why are you calling me?" he asked in curiosity.

"_The better question is, what are you doing still awake? I thought for sure, I'd be waking you up._"

"Yet you called at an unreasonable time anyway," Conan retorted, his surprise quickly wearing off.

"_Just called to let you know… I may have found what you're looking for, but it's not safe to discuss over the phone. I'll tell you everything in person in a few weeks. I need to confirm a few things first. And I've taken care of everything else you asked for._"

Conan gaped wordlessly for a few seconds. "…thanks," he eventually got out.

"_Alright, see you then…_"

"Wait!" Conan cried suddenly. "I need you to find information on one more thing."

"…_fine, but you're pushing it. What else do you need?_"

* * *

Hakuba checked the time again on his bedside alarm, buttoning his gakuran as fast as he could. He really hadn't meant to but for the first time since he was in grade school he had slept through his alarm. His baaya had been the one to wake him ten minutes ago thinking he was ready by then. Now he was fighting against time if he wanted his housekeeper to think he was actually leaving for school.

He pulled his binder out from under his pillow and shoved it into his open satchel. His hands slowed down as he pulled the top flap over the top to buckle it. He stared down at his bag with on odd disjointed feeling. '_Didn't I leave this closed last night?_' He mulled over his actions the night before trying to remember whether or not he had closed the bag. He was pulled from his musings by a sharp knock on his door.

"Saguru-bouchan, you're going to be late."

"Alright. I'm on my way," he called through the door. He gave his bag a last look before grabbing it and running down the hallway for the stairs.

/

Hakuba frowned at the Kansai detective standing in the doorway. "I thought you were going back home yesterday," he said walking past the equally frowning Heiji into Kaito's foyer.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Heiji muttered back, closing and locking the door. "And when did I ever say I was leaving!" he called after Hakuba's retreating back.

Hakuba climbed the stairs, cocking his head trying to hear the muffled arguing coming from Kaito's room. The voices were too muffled to make out, but it sounded as though Conan were speaking some kind of instructions or orders to Kuroba and the thief was arguing back somewhat rudely. He frowned to himself realizing the three must have been awake and working long before he woke up himself. The thought irked him.

"Have you brought my computer upstairs yet?" he asked Heiji walking up the stairs behind him.

"Ah… um… about that…"

Hakuba opened the door to Kaito's room.

"I told you already, I did what you said and it won't run," Kaito argued to the boy sitting in bed with a multitude of pillows holding him up from his spot on the floor in front of his monitor.

"And _I_ said… you're probably… spelling it wrong!" Conan argued back. Hakuba looked past Kaito to try and see what was causing him so many problems. "It's p – u – t – …"

"I can spell 'putty'!" Kaito snapped back. "There, I'm in," he called back, minimizing his command prompt.

"My computer!" Hakuba exclaimed seeing his tower already set up and humming, hooked up to Kaito's tower.

"Hakuba-san," Conan gave him an apologetic half smile. "Sorry. I got… impatient. I asked him… to try."

"Are you still having trouble breathing?" Hakuba asked setting aside his annoyance for starting without him to look the boy over. He frowned seeing the dark circles under eyes that looked a little red. His worry was answered for him when Conan gave a wide yawn.

"He's actually doing better, he just can't breathe well sitting up," Kaito muttered from his spot on the floor.

"I don't really _need_ all these banda…"

"No," Kaito replied, cutting Conan off before he could finish. "He would breathe and talk fine if he lay down but he complained that he couldn't see," he finished.

"That's good," Hakuba answered, giving Conan an absentminded pat on the head and joined Heiji on the floor behind Kaito. "You're looking at the source code?"

Kaito frowned, turning the pages of his C++ book. "Yeah, I can't figure this out," he grumbled. "He locked the drive."

"That would be because that's Assembly," Hakuba smirked looking over Kaito's shoulder. "It's pretty old school. Move over and let me do this before you screw it up."

"Well _excuse_ me if my specialty is jewel thievery and not hijacking people's bank accounts!" Kaito shoved the keyboard towards his classmate with an exasperated huff. "The drive's probably too corrupt to retrieve anything anyway." He flopped back onto the carpet pouting.

"Don't you… dare… say that," wheezed a tired voice from under the blankets. Kaito politely stuck his tongue out at Conan from his upside-down vantage point.

"Well, I don't see how either of you can make sense of a bunch of numbers and letters," Heiji muttered watching Hakuba scroll through an endless column of source code.

"That's because some of us are blessed with higher intellect," Hakuba returned absently ignoring the stifled growls behind him.

"Is he always this much of an ass?" Heiji muttered through clenched teeth while he lay back on the floor to join the thief in his pout.

"Yes," Kaito answered from under the arm currently draped over his face.

"How do you stand him?" Heiji asked leaning back on his hands and certainly ignoring the snickers occasionally punctuated by gasps of pain from the bed.

"I dye his hair green on a regular basis."

The noise from the bed was now more gasps of pain than snickers. Hakuba 'hmphed' at them but otherwise stayed engrossed with the computer. "You know… Hattori," Conan finally managed, "you're… the only one here… who can't read that."

"…shut up Kudo." Heiji glared. "You're all a bunch of hackers and that's a federal crime."

"I'm in. I've found the entry password protocols." Hakuba broke in. Heiji and Kaito scrambled to flank Hakuba around the monitor while Conan strained to see from the bed. The small login window shone brightly at them from the black background of the command prompt. "For such a high level crime syndicate this computer was owned by an idiot or a pompous fool far too overconfident in his building's security," he turned to smile at Conan over his shoulder, "He used the auto-remember function on his login. You picked the perfect hard drive Ku-Conan-kun."

Conan let out the breath he was holding when Hakuba leaned to the side and he saw the line of asterisks in the user name line.

"All we need is the password and we don't even have to hack our way in," Kaito grinned.

"Well _that_ should be easy," Heiji muttered sarcastically, "anyone know Mr. Six Asterisks' birthday?"

"Actually, I think I can help on that," Hakuba muttered typing away on the keyboard.

"Don't guess," Kaito warned, "Kudo said the system is protected by the Night Baron virus. One wrong keystroke and the entire thing gets wiped."

"I'm not an idiot Kuroba, I know what I'm doing," Hakuba groused, "As I was saying, I'm betting this idiot who had the gall to save his login information probably used the password hint program too." He smiled to himself feeling the room brighten up around him.

"You really think he was that dumb?" Heiji asked incredulously and not without a tiny bit of hope.

"Lets find out," Hakuba grinned confidently as he ran the program. Obediently, the computer opened a small window titled 'password hint.' 'FATHER OF NIGHT BARON' blinked up at them from the monitor.

"Damn, does anyone know who wrote the Night Baron virus," Heiji asked.

"Maybe they mean Night Baron the book character," Kaito suggested.

"Well we need to be sure," Hakuba mused, "We only get one shot at this."

"…Kudo Yusaku…" came a soft voice from the bed. The other three turned to the small boy silently who was clutching the blankets in a shaking white-knuckle grip.

"Are ya sure?" Heiji asked quietly breaking the odd silence that had fallen over them.

"It's Kudo Yusaku." Conan told them softly.

"Okay then. Do it," he urged solidly to Hakuba who was watching the small boy closely.

Hakuba typed in the name and hesitated only a moment to take a deep breath before entering the password with Kaito crossing his fingers next to him. Conan and Heiji confidently watched on as the monitor flickered in reversed blue and black colors before processing the password and opening to the standard desktop background wallpaper.

"That's just sick," Kaito shuddered. "It's like they're using your father to protect their evil dark empire."

"Oh, it gets… better," Conan chuckled darkly while wrapping an arm around his sore ribs. "Dad wrote… the Night Baron series… about _your_ Dad."

Kaito paled visibly while he processed this new information. "Of course. Why not," he laughed darkly bringing Hakuba's sharp gaze on him instantly. "The universe and these bastards are determined to ruin both our lives anyway they can, so of course it's our fathers protecting them." He grabbed the nearest thing to him, his C++ book, and flung it viciously into the wall. Hakuba raised an arm to protest but was silenced by Heiji yanking his arm back down with a silencing glare while Kaito stalked around his room picking up anything handy and flinging it into the same wall. Conan just buried himself deeper into the covers blocking out the commotion. As quickly as the anger had filled him it left and Kaito sank to the floor against the bed and let his head fall back on the mattress heavily. "I am so tired of being screwed with," he muttered with an exhausted sigh staring blankly at the ceiling. He blinked when a small, cool hand rested gently on his forehead ruffling his bangs slightly. He looked up at Conan from the corner of his eye who gave him a reassuring smile.

"I completely understand… how you feel," his light gasping voice replied. "So we should… get serious… about putting them… all in jail."

"You know what, I keep finding new ways to hate these guys," Heiji said dropping down next to the thief, opposite Conan.

"I take it you're expecting _me_ to do all the work with this?" Hakuba muttered to the trio at the bed.

"You_ are_ the Linux expert," Kaito replied, grabbing his pillow from the other end of his futon and laying out flat on his stomach next to Hakuba to watch, just as quickly over his short tantrum.

Hakuba sighed and started searching through the drive, folder by folder. His eyes widened as he found folders one would expect to find in any normal business computer. "Conan-kun, listen to this, I've found folders for expenses, invoices, payroll…"

"**Payroll!**" came the set of voices in stereo from the bed. Hakuba and Kaito looked over their shoulders at the eager pair of eyes, one leaning forward the other trying to and frankly looking as though he wished he could snatch the mouse and keyboard away from the blonde detective for himself.

"Um… alright. Payroll, then," Hakuba answered, opening the folder. He was met by a column of files lacking any sort of names, instead, listing files with long random strings of characters. "Oh, no," he muttered softly backing out and trying another folder. He was met by the same strings of random characters.

"What'd ya mean 'oh, no'?" Heiji asked perching forward from the bed to read over his shoulder.

"Is it corrupted?" Kaito asked, looking up at Hakuba for confirmation.

"Not sure," Hakuba murmured, setting his window wider so he could see the entire string. "There might be some kind of encryption at work here. Hold on, I'm going to get a closer look at these files."

Unable to see over Hakuba's back and Kaito's head, Heiji crept closer to watch from next to the thief. "What's he doing?" he asked softly, giving Hakuba a wary look in case he decided to insult his intelligence some more.

"He's checking to see how big the encrypted files are… I think," Kaito murmured, reading along the best he could.

"This encryption is… insane," Hakuba said softly leaning close to the screen. "These aren't files, they're far too big."

"They're all around 25.6 megs in the folder," Kaito commented. "How big are we talking?"

"Gigs. Several," Hakuba replied, scrolling through coding. "I know this…" he murmured, trailing off while he read through lines of programming.

"Something you've seen before?" Kaito asked.

Hakuba nodded absently. "This encryption reminds me of a case I helped out on in London two years ago. The computer was seized for evidence but the Yard couldn't break the encryption. I caught a glimpse while they were running a dictionary attack. It didn't work, though. I don't think they ever cracked the drive. I think they said it was called truecrypt."

"Don't say that," Kaito whined, dropping his face into his pillow. "Isn't that the one that gave the FBI trouble on that case in Brazil?"

"Trouble?" Heiji asked looking absolutely lost.

"Yeah, they couldn't crack it even after… um… twelve months or something like that," Kaito said in a diminishing voice once he noticed Conan glaring at them all.

"Tell me… you know a way… around it," Conan demanded from the bed.

Hakuba gave them a wry smirk while he pulled up the lanyard around his neck that he'd been wearing under his school uniform. "You don't know I have this, especially you Kuroba," he said gesturing with the black drive in his hand at the end of the black lanyard, "And if you tell my father, you're dead to me."

"Why? What is that?" Kaito asked curiosity peaked.

"My birthday present to myself," Hakuba said with a happy grin. "My father handed me his card and said to buy myself something. He never really looked at the statement when he paid it off so he has no idea how much I spent on this and I'd appreciate it if he never did, got it?"

"How much did ya spend?" Heiji asked watching Hakuba hook up his drive to a firewire port in the back of the tower.

"Uh… around 66,600 yen," Hakuba muttered crawling back into place.

"You spent almost 70,000 of your dad's money on a jump drive?" Kaito asked, his eyebrows jumping to his hairline. "I'm impressed. And you call _me_ the thief."

"You _are_ a thief. And I _paid_ for this," Hakuba shot back.

"No, your dad paid for that. What is it anyway?" Kaito asked

"This is a forensics level decryptor, and you wish you had it," Hakuba grinned smugly. "You wanted to start with payroll, right?" he asked the tense Conan trying desperately to see around the three crowding the screen. A couple of keystrokes and several minutes later and the first random string file was decrypted into a new folder. Hakuba opened the folder and leaned back as Kaito and Heiji crowded him out for space.

"What's… in the folder?" Conan called from the bed in frustration.

"Kudo, these are payroll spreadsheets," Heiji said slowly, "From 1940 through 1959!"

"Can you open one of these?" Kaito asked an annoyed Hakuba.

"I could if you moved," he muttered testily, waiting for the thief and Kansai detective to move back. He tried the 1950 file, which opened a window demanding a password. "It looks like everything encrypted is file protected too. Before we open anything, I think you should let me work on decrypting everything in the drive. It may take a while and I'd like to get everything unlocked before I have to go," Hakuba said to Conan who gave him a nod from the bed. "Alright, I'm going to document everything I do," he said reaching for his school satchel and pulling out his binder and pencil case, "for when we report this. I'm assuming you intend for this hard drive to be turned over to the proper authorities eventually."

"Yes, good idea," Conan said with a heavy sigh, settling back into his pillows.

"If this is going to take a while, you should get some sleep," Kaito said looking back at Conan over his shoulder. "I'm pretty sure you didn't sleep last night." Conan opened his mouth to protest but Kaito held up a hand to stave him off. "How late did you stay up in the restroom last night?"

"…four am," Conan answered reluctantly.

"Catch a nap. We don't need you getting sick again because you won't take care of yourself when you're already hurt. I can tell you for a fact Hakuba's not going to do anything near interesting until he's done unlocking the drive and it would have been boring sitting around waiting 'til he's done, anyway." Hakuba cast Kaito a dirty look but returned his attention back to his self-imposed job. "The two of us can go get something for us to eat," he said clapping Heiji on the shoulder and heading for his door.

"I guess we'll be right back," Heiji said following Kaito out the door.

"Fine, whatever," Conan muttered grouchily, tugging his pillows lower.

"I told you it was a good book!" Kaito yelled back to him from the hallway.

Conan crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance. Hakuba turned around raising an eyebrow at the pouting seven-year-old. "Don't ask," Conan muttered, grabbing the blankets and pulling them over his head blocking out the light.

/

"I need to get going," Hakuba muttered, grabbing his school satchel and collecting his pens and highlighters.

Kaito leaned over to see his bedside alarm clock. "School is still in session for another hour, I think your dad's going to notice you're skipping if you show up this early."

Hakuba gave a self-amused snort, reaching for his binder. "No, he won't. He wouldn't notice if I decided to wear a dress and call myself 'Susan' if it didn't affect his ratings in the polls. He isn't that happy about my being a detective either as it stands. But today I need all the extra time I can find before the building closes." He looked up catching Conan's eye. "Conan-kun, do you think you can make me a quick list of each police investigation you know of where this organization was involved?"

Conan gave a slow nod and held out his hand expectantly to Heiji who quickly scrounged a pencil and notebook paper from Kaito's desk. "Do you just… want the case numbers?" he asked, looking awfully curious at Hakuba for needing the information.

"That would be perfect if you know them all," Hakuba said looking up and noticing Conan's expression of inquisitiveness. "Ask me later once I'm sure of what I'm looking into," he said softly. Conan nodded with the serious expression of a sealed deal and let the subject drop, bending his head to his work. Hakuba flipped through his binder to the extra pages he had hidden the night before until he found the memo about the helicopter transfer. "Kuroba, is there any way to find out if this warehouse is one of _their_ buildings? Safely? The helicopter wreckage was supposedly sent here." He held out the binder to the thief so he could read the page.

Kaito stared at the address and crossed over to his computer to search by satellite view. "Oh sure, it looks like I'll have plenty of cover to…"

"I don't want to hear what you're going to do," Hakuba interrupted, "just, can you do it?"

"Yeah, I think so," Kaito nodded with a hidden grin at Hakuba's squeamishness for illegal activities. "I'll work on that tonight. Anything in particular I should be looking for?"

"Track who owns this place. I'm assuming you can help confirm if any names he finds are suspicious," he said looking over to Conan. Conan nodded absently without looking up from his writing. "And if you can without getting yourself shot, find out if the helicopter really _is_ here," he said to Kaito, closing the notebook. "I'll be back after five." He stuffed the binder in his bag and hurried out.

"So… is anyone going to ask what he's doing?" Heiji asked looking back and forth between Kaito and Conan.

Kaito sighed, turning back to his computer and zooming in on his target building. "I'm sure we'll hear plenty soon enough," he said, "You can expect him to skulk and be secretive until he's sure so he can corner all the gloating rights." Heiji muffled a snicker.

"What's his… job?" Conan asked from the bed.

Kaito shrugged. "Odd jobs at his dad's office I think. Personally, I think it's the only time he sees the man."

"His dad's office… in the Tocho building?" Conan asked thinking back to a comment Hakuba had made just over a full week ago.

"Yeah, why?" Kaito asked, looking up at the brightening expression on the boy's face.

"It's nothing," Conan replied, worming his way back into lying flat on the bed, "just figured out… how he gets his information."

* * *

"Thanks for helping out again, son. After you log those files into Archives, you can go home. I don't want you neglecting your homework," the city of Tokyo's police commissioner said with a hand over the mouthpiece of his phone.

"Of course, father," Hakuba replied absently, not really expecting an answer as his father's attention was already back to his phone call with the mayor. He straightened the thin stack of files his father had handed him absently and pushed his way out, leaning back against the heavy ornate doors that had closed at his back with a heavy sigh. He took one last steadying deep breath and looked out over the empty secretary's anteroom.

Shimada-san had long since left for home and there was no one left in the room to watch him. He opened the thin long drawer of the desk and 'borrowed' her keys, unlocking the room's supply closet and disappearing inside with one last cautious look to the doors of his father's office. Alone in the narrow closet, he pulled out an unused book cart and started loading it with all the empty file boxes he could fit. In one, he dumped the folders his father had handed him and for each of the others, he placed a heavy ream of paper for added weight. Loaded and ready, he pushed the cart out of the closet and grabbed his school bag from the waiting chair he'd left it on and slipped it into one of the faux boxes and pushed the cart to the elevators before he could think better of what he was doing.

/

"Wow! He really is working you two days a week now Su-chan?" Yasue exclaimed peering over the load of boxes he was pushing to see him. "And how many files does he expect you to log_?_!" she asked poking one of the boxes that didn't so much as budge with the weight of a ream of paper weighing it down.

"I've said not to call me that," Hakuba muttered on reflex, not really expecting the Archives manager to change her ways anytime before he was thirty. It was the same conversation, they had every time he worked Archives, but this time he was acutely aware of the security camera over her head watching everyone who entered the basement floor. He pulled the clipboard close and signed in with a carefully fast, unsteady handwriting that made his name completely illegible and pulled out a stash of two boxes of chocolate truffles and a bar of godiva dark chocolate that he dumped over the sign-in sheet and pushed her way.

"Ooo! What's the special occasion?" Yasue asked snatching up the offered chocolate and dumping the sign-in clipboard on one of the shelves of the bookcase behind her without giving it a second glance.

Hakuba gave an inward sigh of relief and forced his attention away from the clipboard. "I might be working late with all this," he said lightly, forcing himself to keep looking her in the eye.

"Need help? Two sets of hands work faster than one."

"N-No that's fine," Hakuba replied, definitely feeling the unfamiliarity of hiding his intentions. "Besides isn't your soap opera starting?" he asked pointing to the tv screen behind her.

"It's already four? I almost lost track of time. Sorry kiddo, you're on your own," she grinned turning up the volume. Hakuba took the opportunity to push the cart into the aisles and turn a corner as quickly as he could getting out of her direct line of sight although he was still walking under any number of security cameras. As soon as he disappeared, Yasue switched her tv to the security camera feed, watching the light-haired boy from the overhead cameras.

He made his way to the small freight elevator in the back and rode it to the bottom third sub-basement floor of Archives, which was mostly forgotten and woefully neglected. The floor also had the fewest number of cameras according to Kuroba's floor plans, leaving large blind spots, the powers that be figuring that with Archives only having one exit, money could be saved in security on a floor that was seldom used housing police reports from over forty years ago.

He unloaded his boxes on a back table close to an ancient Xerox machine from the mid-eighties that he _knew_ was also in one of the security camera blind spots. Hakuba gave an inward shudder at the thought that he was starting to think like Kuroba.

Out of anyone's sight, he opened the box that actually held the few folders his father had given him and pulled out his school satchel with the list Conan had made him. Using the nearby computer on that floor would unfortunately take him in view of the cameras but he was fairly sure the angle would show nothing out of the ordinary in his actions. He searched the first ID number on the list and disappeared up the concrete utility stairs to find the corresponding box, the file on the Four Diamonds bank robbery a year ago that had resulted in the unsolved murder of a teller, guard, and getaway driver over the next few days.

With the box safely in his camera free corner, a cursory pass of flipping through the box's contents revealed a liberal use of censored black lines. He was grateful that he still remembered most of the original report when he had read it last year. After a quick self-conscious look around, he pulled out the thick stack of police reports and department emails from the curious case and carried them to the copy machine.

/

He heard the footsteps scant seconds before Yasue found him giving just enough time to grab one of his father's folders and get himself in front of the computer holding his breath to hide the fact that his breathing was now rather rushed.

"There you are Su-chan. What are you doing all the way down here? You must have been climbing those stairs over and over again," Yasue exclaimed walking up behind him and peeking at the search screen over his shoulder.

He tried not to tense and cringe when her face came uncomfortably close reading the legitimate search on his file for a recently cracked break-in. "I… ah… had a headache and the light was more manageable down here," he lied, stumbling slightly over the quickly thought of deception. '_Yes. Definitely spent too much time with Kuroba,_' he grumbled inwardly, keeping his eyes glued on the screen logging the folders contents.

"Ehh?" she mused aloud looking up at the fluorescent lights high above them, many of which were in need of replacing. "If you weren't feeling well, I could have lent you a hand," she said making her way to the table with its open box and looking in. Hakuba tensed, the muscles that ran between his shoulders on his back drawing tight in a stressful knot while she poked through the files but refusing to look away from the screen and draw attention where he didn't want it. "Never mind, it looks like you're almost done. Already finished with all those other boxes?" she asked looking at the book cart holding the other boxes that he'd pushed against the wall by the copy machine.

"Yes, I just have this last box," he murmured trying to look deeply involved in his work even though his breathing had hitched to tight gasps while he watched her attention move to the file boxes now filled with copy after copy of illegally obtained records out of the corner of his eye.

"Well if you're close to finished, I'll leave you to it." Hakuba watched her leave, hunching over the keyboard as she squeezed past him, his hands clenching tight to the edges of the pedestal holding it and refusing to let go while his heart was hammering. '_All this sneaking around is bad for my health,_' he grumbled inwardly, firmly blaming his current situation on his annoying classmate and thief. He gave himself a firm reprimand not to make such reprehensible behavior a habit and headed for the stairs in search of the folder's box.

When he finally found it, he was surprised to see it was just a few shelves away from the box for the tower disaster's records he had opened the day before. Out of curiosity, he lifted the cover on the box and saw exactly what he expected to see, the reports he had filed were already crisscrossed with blackout lines save for a few inner department emails and memos. He took a closer look at one of the blemish free memos, one about calling for all records of the forensics reports involved to be sealed as classified and redundant copies to be destroyed. An order that had struck him as a little excessive and very odd. And for some reason, the paper nagged at him; something was off about it. He gasped softly when he realized what was wrong. The header and seal had changed from his father's office to the name and seal of Minato's superintendent, Matsumoto Kiyonaga. Without further prodding, he grabbed the box and snuck it downstairs to be copied.

It was while he was hurrying with the box of valuable records on the tower disaster, that his pants leg snagged on an old browned dusty box a few aisles from his base and pulled the box off the shelf dumping a mess of papers over the floor. "Damn it," he cursed with a frown, dropping to a crouch setting his box on the floor and started picking up pages from the who knew how old case. His eyes widened when he realized, like every case Conan's list had led him to, this file also had page upon page of censor lines. But unlike the new cases that contained Xeroxes of the originals, the files in his hands were the original police reports with markered lines. He ran a light finger over one of the pages and could still feel the raised and now slightly sticky typed script under the marker thanks to the slight deterioration of the cheap ink ribbons the department used to use. There was plenty modern forensics could do to clean up these pages. Without a second though, he gathered up the papers including the pages still in the box and returned the box lid to a now empty receptacle adding the files to his copied records.

Working against the clock now that Yasue had seen how few folders he had left, he tore into his last ream of paper and set to copying the files from the tower disaster and logging in the last few folders. Task accomplished and the last few pages preloaded in the copier, he crept into the sub-basement aisles, seeking out the other blind spots and started checking box contents for censored reports and emptying the contents of those that did. "I'm just borrowing these for research," he said aloud to assuage his guilt while he packed up the last of his things. "I'll bring these right back tomorrow if they're useless. It's not stealing. That would make me no better than Kuroba," he muttered quietly trying desperately to believe his own words.

Stowing the tower case box back on its proper shelf, he filed the last of his folders and cut a hasty retreat, barely taking the time to give Yasue a proper goodbye on his way to the elevator. He pushed the book cart out into the lobby and dug out his phone, ready to call his Baaya to bring his father's car to pick up his heavy load of stuffed file boxes but thought better of it at the last minute. While his copying of archived documents was not necessarily illegal, if you bent a few rules and squinted hard, his abducting of records from the third basement surely was and the elderly woman knew him well enough to realize something was up with the heated flush to his face, the cold sweat starting to make itself known as he pushed his trove past the security desk, and his pathological need to scan his environment every fifteen seconds. His heart was hammering by the time he made it to the security check point at the door and its sensing pillars he would have to cross with all those boxes. His mind jumped to frantic overload trying to remember if security had reached the Archive's third floor in their updating. He almost slowed down in his approach, cursing himself for not thinking of trying to sneak out the back loading docks where there were far fewer people and no metal detectors and electronic sensors, but it was too late now. The three security guards at their station had already seen him heading for the door… and one was now heading his way. He cringed, hearing the guard call out to him and slowed to a halt just five meters from the front door.

"Sorry, Hakuba-san, but they've been cracking down on us for being too lax on protocol," the young security guard said catching up to him and motioning him over to the metal detector.

"Of course, it's just fine" Hakuba answered back woodenly watching the guard take hold of his book cart and start lifting boxes onto the conveyor belt to be x-rayed. He stared confusedly at the bright plastic basket the guard held out to him. "Oh, right. Forgive me," he muttered taking the basket and pulling out his cell phone, keys, and anything else metal on autopilot more concerned with watching his boxes disappear into the massive machine and waiting for some kind of alarm to blare.

"It all looks good, Hakuba-san," the guard said in a casual voice that belied the frazzled teen's nerves. "You can go through now," he prodded seeing that Hakuba was still standing hesitantly in front of the metal detector. Hakuba gave a curt nod and couldn't quite stop his hands from clenching onto his pants legs when he walked through the detector. He let go of the breath he hadn't realized he was holding as he found himself on the other side free of any beeps, alarms or klaxons outing him to security for what he was doing.

On the other side, he gathered his school satchel and stacked the three boxes still on the rollers and started looking around frantically for his other three missing ones. "You sure have a heavy load there," the guard commented off-handedly. He looked up to see the last of his boxes in the guard's arms, two of which he knew to be the ones holding the sto-_borrowed_ files. He froze, his stomach plummeting at the dread that he'd been found out. "Hakuba-keisou should learn to relax and not take so much work home with him. Lets go before that nanny of yours gets tired of waiting," he said kindly.

"You're helping me?" Hakuba asked feeling quite the dunce once the words left his mouth before he could stop them. Maybe it was the Kansai detective he'd been hanging around too much.

"No offense, but I can't let a twig thing like you carry all this by himself." Hakuba followed him out the rotating glass doors and down the court steps still somewhat shell-shocked that he was almost free. "Where's your caretaker's car?" the guard asked.

"Umm… She's been feeling ill," he lied again.

"Alright, I'll hail a taxi for you."

Hakuba waited patiently on the curb while the guard caught a taxi and proceeded to load his file boxes in the trunk for him. Was this how it felt to be Kuroba, when the powers of the universe lined up for you to get away with something? It was like fate was handing him clear permission to make off with his collection of records; he hadn't even had to lift a finger, and it was a heady adrenalin-pumped feeling. He shook his head trying to dislodge such dangerous thinking.

"Thank you," he said politely with a short bow, finally remembering his manners.

"Not a problem, Hakuba-san," the guard said waiting for him to climb in and shutting the door behind him. He gave a final wave and started back up the building's steps.

"Where to kid?" the taxi driver asked pulling away from the curb. He hesitated only a moment before giving Kuroba's address rather than his own mansion residence. The less his father and Baaya knew about what he'd just done, the better a plausible deniability plea would go if he was caught in order to protect his father's reputation. He slumped down in his seat, giving in to bad posture while he contemplated how Kuroba was going to hang this over his head if he found out.

"I must be out of my mind," he mumbled to himself in a voice too small to be heard over the cabby's radio.

* * *

Kaito lay back on his futon, watching Conan turn pages in the thick Night Baron volume out of the corner of his eye, the first time he'd had to relax since the beginning of the tumultuous events the fire had started. Hakuba was gone and out of his hair at work and little Kudo's friend had left to run 'some errands' as the detective had told them with a shaky laugh. Conan had leveled a suspicious frown at Heiji but said nothing letting the Osakan leave in peace. Well if the kid didn't think whatever had bothered him was important enough to say anything, he would trust his judgment.

"I can read better if you'd stop staring at me," Conan muttered quietly, turning another page and keeping his eyes on the book.

"Sorry," Kaito said biting back a grin and shifting his gaze to his ceiling. He let the silence between them stretch while Conan read through a few more pages. "Why did you say your dad wrote that about my dad?" he finally asked.

"Because _I_ think he did," Conan answered smoothly without breaking his reading. "He started writing it right after your father's funeral."

"But that doesn't mean anything. It could just be a coincidence," Kaito replied with a frown.

"When is your birthday?" Conan asked absently. "June?"

"Yeah, June twenty-first. How'd you know?" Kaito asked in genuine surprise.

"You've never been around my father when he's writing but he's about as reliable meeting a deadline as Kogoro-jisan is at solving cases," Conan replied with a self-amused snort. "Worse even. I kind of feel sorry for his editors having to chase him and mom all over the world to get manuscripts out of him. Except for Night Baron." He closed the book around a finger marking his page and lay the book flat on his chest to look the thief in the eye. "Night Baron is the only deadline he's ever met consistently. A new volume is released every year in June."

Kaito stared at him wordlessly for a few minutes. "Yeah, but still that doesn't necessarily mean anything special."

"I'm also fairly sure my dad knew your father was Kaitou Kid," Conan continued, laying his hand over the book's cover just above where he had left the crumpled note. Kaito locked eyes with him again in surprise.

"If he knew, why didn't he catch him?" he asked quietly.

"With my dad, who knows?" Conan muttered opening the book again. "One of these days you should ask him."

Kaito lay in silence, staring at the boy, but Conan seemed set on reading quietly and ignoring him so he returned his gaze to his ceiling with a frown. He had never really thought of the book series having anything to do with his father's night job or the fact that he had always counted on his birthday for a new volume to the series… but the idea was still a little too incredible that one of his favorite series was being written with him and his father in mind. He rolled over to grab Aoko's bear from under his desk where he'd been stashed while the room was crowded and hugged it tight, breathing in the calming scent of peaches and curled on his side, trying to decide if he had enough time for a short nap.

They both froze at the sound of tires screeching nearby, and the deep rumble of a V8 engine powering down. "Is that from your driveway?" Conan asked cautiously.

With a smooth roll up to standing, Kaito silently sidled up alongside the window and took a cautious look outside, careful not to disturb the curtains or blinds. "There's a white car with a canvas top in our driveway," he murmured in a low voice casting a questioning look Conan's way.

"A Mercedes?" Conan asked.

Kaito raised an eyebrow and turned to fully face him. "Looks like it," he replied, "Friends of yours?"

"The FBI," Conan muttered, shoving himself higher on the mound of pillows.

"I can't believe I actually feel relieved hearing that," Kaito muttered moving away from the window. They both froze at the soft chime of a cell phone's text messenger.

"It's not me," Conan muttered after checking his two phones. Kaito pulled out his own phone and frowned at the screen. "Something wrong?" Conan asked.

"I don't recognize the number," he mumbled, opening the text. Kaito stared at his phone's screen in confusion. Conan raised an eyebrow at the deep furrow between the thief's eyes.

"What does it say?" he asked.

"It doesn't say anything," Kaito said turning the phone so he could read the screen, "It's just a question mark."

Conan's eyes widened in sudden understanding. "Reply with an exclamation point," he said quickly, rolling over onto his stomach.

"Why?" Kaito muttered, staring at him suspiciously.

"Just do it," Conan returned sounding exasperated while he carefully slid off the bed.

Kaito complied keeping a curious eye on the little detective who was already walking out the door. He followed after, raising an eyebrow watching Conan cling to the stair rails while he made his way down the stairs, full of stiff muscles and a light limp. Within seconds of pressing 'send' on his phone, there was a loud knock on his door. The swift purposeful kind of knock he associated with the few nightmares he'd had when the police had finally tracked him down that would have had him panicking three days ago. By the time he reached the foyer, Conan was already waiting impatiently at the front door.

"Hurry up!" Conan demanded, switching his weight from foot to foot anxiously.

"Then why don't _you_ open it," Kaito muttered, purposely slowing his pace _just_ a tad more in retaliation for whatever new secret the shrimp was keeping from him with this question mark exclamation point business.

"Because I can't reach," Conan retorted, wrapping his arms around himself and his sore ribs.

Kaito bit back a smirk at the myriad of short jokes he could have made just then but wisely kept quiet, reaching above Conan's head to open the door. He smiled politely seeing the blonde FBI agent on his doorstep. "Jodie-san."

"Good afternoon, Kuroba-kun. I brought the paperwork you need to sign," she said with a pleasant smile despite her serious expression and gesturing to the thick folder she was carrying, "and I brought someone who needs to speak with you." She stepped aside and Kaito noticed the older gentleman behind her for the first time. The man was opening his mouth to say something when Conan finally wedged himself past Kaito's legs.

"James-san!" he greeted happily in what Kaito identified as his 'Conan' voice.

"Oh, it's nice to see you Conan-kun," the man called 'James' replied to the child standing at his knees. "Jodie tells me you're the one who brought this to our attention. Thank you for helping us again."

Conan looked up at Kaito with a cheeky grin. "This is James Black. He's the head of the FBI's investigation on the Black Organization."

"You must be Kaito-kun," James said with a jovial smile, "It's certainly a pleasure to meet Toichi-kun's boy."

"Right… ah," Kaito replied with a great deal more trepidation in the face of two people who should probably be arresting him. "Umm… p-please, come in." Conan gave him an odd look in the face of his sudden attack of shyness.

"Thank you," Jodie replied kindly with an understanding smile at Kaito's stammering. She gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder as she stepped inside. "And don't worry, everything is going to be okay. You can trust us," she said softly.

Kaito relaxed a little, dropping the tension he hadn't even realized he'd been carrying in his shoulders. He ignored the know-it-all look on Conan's face who'd heard the exchange. "Please follow me," he said to the two agents leading them to the dining room where the two started pulling paperwork from folders and arranging files. "Can I get you two something to drink? Coffee maybe?"

"That would be fine. Thank you," Jodie replied and smiled watching Kaito dash out of the room. "I think we make him nervous," she said in a quiet aside to Conan.

Conan gave an amused snort in return. "He _has_ spent most of his time _avoiding_ the police," he muttered, pulling out a chair opposite James. "That aside… it was _you_ who sent that text a few minutes ago, right?" he asked the elder agent.

James gave him a peculiar look for a moment. "You were the one who answered?" he asked calmly. "You understand its meaning?"

Conan nodded, watching him just as carefully. "I have an idea. It's a code, right? I take it you're going to explain that?" he asked.

"That was my intention," he replied. He looked up in surprise at the entrance seeing Kaito looking at the two of them warily from behind the tray of coffee cups he was holding.

"What code?" he asked in quiet demand, looking as though he couldn't quite decide whether to enter the room or start backing up. He gave Conan a sharp glare for hiding something from him that Conan answered with an annoyed sigh, resting his chin on his hand and a roll of his eyes.

"My apologies, I never heard you coming," James said with a friendly smile. "Your father was quite fond of doing that too," he finished gesturing for Kaito to take a seat.

"You… knew dad?" Kaito asked, forgetting his earlier trepidation and taking a seat next to Conan, passing out the coffee. "And what's this code you were talking about?"

"The text with the question mark," Conan said, "He was testing to see if you knew what you were supposed to answer with. Right?" He fixed James with a testy frown.

"You've got me, Conan-kun," he said with a conspiratorial grin.

"What's that mean? Testing what?" Kaito asked, looking back and forth between the two.

"Would you please begin the explanation, Conan-kun?" James asked, "I'm a bit curious to see how much you know."

Conan gave a curt nod, taking a sip of coffee while he organized his thoughts. "Ah… it's a story I heard from Shinichi-niisan," he started, giving Kaito a sharp look to stay silent. "When we… I mean he was six, he and Ran-neechan snuck into school at night to investigate some rumor that a ghost was haunting the library. But the one they met was your dad," he said. He paused slightly realizing Kaito was perched forward in his chair, drinking in his every word. "…ah… w-he didn't know who the man was at the time, he wasn't wearing the um… outfit. He challenged them to a series of scavenger hunt type searches. I think he was expecting Shinichi-niisan to ask his dad for help. It was probably him he was trying to reach to begin with. They solved his challenges but Shinichi-niisan messed up the last one involving a wallet. It wasn't until recently that he found the note Kaitou Kid hid." He looked directly at Kaito. "A square piece of paper with only a question mark on it." He stared at Kaito meaningfully. Kaito's eyes lit up in realization. "I found the answering message Shinichi-niisan's dad sent yours," Conan continued, "you were using it as bookmark in your Night Baron book."

"…an exclamation point," Kaito finished. "I found that note in one of dad's drawers when I helped mom box up all of his things."

Conan gave a sage nod and turned to James. "Shinichi-niisan's dad sent that answering note even though he never received the first note from the original Kaitou Kid. He knew just who to send it to. He must have already known that Kuroba Toichi, the magician, was Kaitou Kid. But from what Shinichi-niisan told me, he only went along on Kid heists if Megure-keibu insisted and he would have been going knowing the whole time who he really was. Why did he keep it secret?" he demanded of the calm FBI director.

"From what I remember, it was out of deference to his wife in the beginning," he said between sips of coffee. "She was a student of Toichi-kun's. Kudo-san had actually figured out Kaitou Kid's identity some time ago." Kaito gave a small huff behind his own cup. "But by the time Toichi-kun tried to contact Kudo-san, he had already been hunting jewels for several months."

"How _do_ you know m… uh… Kudo-san?" Conan asked curiously.

"Because of _my_ father," Jodie said, giving Kaito a gentle smile. "I think the next part of this story is mine." She took a sip of coffee while she organized her thoughts. "When the bureau first started looking into the organization about fifteen years ago, it was because of my father's investigation. He was the first to detect their presence and the first to identify one of their lead agents who had become active in the States, an assassin called Vermouth." Kaito nodded slowly, all ears listening to her story. Next to him Conan was also paying strict attention having never heard this part of the FBI's involvement before. "Of course at the time, he didn't know how big an organization he was searching for. All he had was an alias of a lone assassin possibly working on orders from higher up. He and his partner, James, were placed in charge of the investigation," she said with a tilt of her head to the man sitting next to her. "But at the time, we still had no idea where the organization was based out of. And we weren't making any headway because our informants kept disappearing. My father finally asked one of his old friends for advice on the investigation, a famous mystery author and detective, Kudo Yusaku. That was how Kudo-san was introduced to James and became aware of our investigation. …That was three weeks before my father was killed by Vermouth. I suppose he got too close." She was finding it harder and harder to keep her lips from trembling and James finally placed a comforting hand over her trembling fingers gripping the coffee cup.

"That's enough. I'll take it from here," James said kindly. Jodie gave him a grateful smile and answering nod. "A year or so later," James began, continuing the story. "Kudo-san contacted us that he had been approached by someone, a living witness, who might be able to provide us with information. He informed us of his contact's um… situation, so we made a deal of full indemnity for his testimony. It was then that Kudo-san introduced us to Kuroba Toichi."

He picked up a stapled bundle of papers and passed them across the table to Kaito. Kaito looked over the top sheet, full of his father's elegant handwriting, signing himself as a federal witness for the FBI. Next to him, Conan stood on his knees on the chair to read over his arm. Kaito reverently ran a hand lightly over the page.

"Your father brought us his story about his mysterious former employer and what they were searching for. It was the first time we had someone who could identify faces of people directly involved and provide aliases. It was because of Toichi-kun's own investigating that we finally identified not only what country the organization was operating out of but down to the prefecture as well. We made all the arrangements for a full pardon in exchange for his testimony, we even made contacts in Interpol to have his record completely expunged."

Kaito looked up at him in surprise at that. "Then… he would have been free?" he asked hesitantly.

"Just about," James said with a fatherly smile. "We had full plans to bargain with whoever we needed to. He was the best thing that happened to our investigation. We were dead in the water before his help." He took another sip of coffee before restarting his tale. "The minute he signed on with us, we offered to place him and his family in protective custody. Witness Protection was ready the minute he said 'go' to hide all of you… but he refused. He argued that he would be of more use trying to find that gem they were looking for, learning what he could about them from their occasional encounters, and sending us updates as he found more information. He also refused any of our help worried our presence would tip them off. The reconnaissance he provided eventually led to us successfully planting an undercover agent in their upper echelon."

Kaito gave a small proud smile looking back down to the stack of papers bearing his father's name, his father's handwriting. He surreptitiously used the corner of his shirtsleeve to wipe away the tears welling up in his eyes. "Dad… did all that?" he asked softly.

"Your father was a brave man," Jodie said delicately, pulling out her handkerchief from her purse and handing it across the table to Kaito.

"What was the code used for?" Conan asked, politely ignoring Kaito until he could get himself composed.

"That?" James gave a small chuckle. "Toichi-kun once told me that it was how he and Kudo-san used to challenge each other but it later became a code for requesting a meeting with each other in the early days of his trying to find someone he could trust with what he had discovered. We adopted the same as a set of passwords for meeting up safely. Of course, back then it was used with actual notes and hidden messages written in chalk since mobile phones had no such ability back then. We had a set series of locations we used for passing messages. Whoever was requesting a meeting would leave a question mark and if the other was able to meet, an exclamation point was left. If a meeting was set, it was always at the location we had used for passing the message at 4:01pm at his insistence."

Kaito straightened abruptly. "4:01?"

"Yes, do you happen to know why?" James asked curiously. "I've always been curious."

"That's what time I was born at," he mumbled behind a blush.

"Your dad was sweet," Conan retorted with a grin, "The sentimental type?"

"Zip it," Kaito hissed back under his breath.

"Anyhow," James continued with a conspicuous clearing of his throat, "We plan on offering you the same deal. Full protection and pardon for your help. It does mean of course, that you will have to give up all ties to the alias and persona of Kaitou Kid after the trial. Until then, I'm willing to overlook anything you do as a sanctioned FBI operation in the investigation of the organization, within reason."

"When the pardon comes into effect, the organization will be gone, right?" Kaito asked, his eyes begging confirmation of the elder man. James nodded silently. Kaito stared at the table for a moment while his hand absently slid back and forth over his father's file. "Where do I sign?" he finally said in a quiet solemn voice. Jodie slid a large stack of paperwork across the table. Next to him, Conan gave a tired smile and gave up his chair so Jodie could more readily direct Kaito through the complicated forms. He walked over to James' side of the table quietly sipping his coffee and watching Kaito follow his father's footsteps.

"You remind me of Kudo-san," James said suddenly with an amused smile. Conan stiffened, watching the elder man carefully. "You know the strangest people," he finished with a nod to Kaito who was busy signing a giant stack of forms in triplicate. "It seems as though history is repeating itself all over again," he murmured. "Do you think he'll listen to us about protective custody anymore than his father did?"

"Probably not," Conan answered with a wry grin.

"All this time, and he's inherited his father's search for that wretched crystal," James mused.

"Do you think it's real?" Conan asked lightly, drinking his coffee.

"The stone's supposed power? How can such a thing really exist," James muttered with a heavy sigh. "But I've seen people kill for crazier things." Conan made a non-committal sound and started to work himself onto the chair Jodie had vacated. "And how are you doing, Conan-kun? Jodie told me about your injuries," he asked with an amused grin watching the boy try and climb on a chair that was chest high to him with one hand preoccupied with his coffee. He finally reached over, lifting the boy from under his arms and setting him on the chair rather than watching him struggle. He frowned feeling the thick layer of bandaging under the concealing pajama top.

"Thanks," Conan muttered with an embarrassed burn crossing his nose.

"Are you sure you don't want us to arrange for a doctor to examine you? Someone discrete?" James asked in concern. "We still have contact information for that doctor in Beika we had in protective custody."

"NO!" Conan cried a little too loudly as Kaito and Jodie looked up at him from their work. "…um… no, that's okay," Conan answered with a bright innocent smile. "Kaito-niisan did a good job taking care of me," he said registering Kaito's slight shudder at the childish nickname with an inner snicker.

James gave a satisfied nod. "And what was this about retrieving a computer from an office before the building burned?" he asked in a low voice.

Conan's eyes lit up in sudden remembrance. "Right, a hard drive. We were able to crack it."

"Anything we can use?" James asked in a tense anticipatory voice.

"Yes, we found plenty of data on their business dealings. We even found their payroll files for the last seven decades," Conan replied in an excited whisper.

"Can you bring the information you found to us tomorrow?" James asked with a pleased grin.

"No problem, we'll make copies of everything tonight," Conan replied.

"Alright, we're currently based out of the Haido City Hotel, room 258," James said, "We also need to get that hard drive booked into evidence. Can we take it with us?"

"It's in delicate condition because of the fire and the roof collapse," Conan muttered, "It would probably be safest just to put the entire tower in evidence. I'll have to ask Hakuba-niichan if we can, it's his computer."

"Then we'll discuss this tomorrow," James said standing up after exchanging a nod with Jodie who was packing up her paperwork. "Is this Hakuba-san involved in this investigation?"

"Yes," Conan said firmly.

"Jodie _did_ say you had a few people working on this. Bring him by tomorrow. I'd like to meet the people working on this case," James said to him before reaching across the table to shake Kaito's hand. "Welcome to working for the FBI, Kid-kun," he said with a smile.

Kaito shook his hand firmly with a serious expression. "Thanks… um… for telling me… all that," he mumbled.

Next to him, Jodie gave him a gentle smile, "Told you everything would be okay." Kaito smiled back and politely walked them to the front door.

"Conan-kun, bring everyone you've involved in this investigation by tomorrow," James said as they were walking out. "We may as well read everyone in at the same time."

"Okay," Conan said watching them load their car from the safety of the front door going only as far as the tiled entrance let his bare feet sporting fading bruises and toe splint go. Kaito waited in the driveway, waving off the two agents, watching the Mercedes-Benz disappear around a corner of his street when Conan called out to him. "We've got more company," he yelled to the thief pointing down the street in the opposite direction.

Kaito looked out, shielding his eyes from the light of the setting sun. "Hakuba?" he called out to the figure walking their way hidden behind a towering stack of file boxes.

"A little help!" the person behind the pile called out. Kaito left Conan in the doorway to grab the top most boxes from Hakuba's stack.

"What _is_ all this?" he asked the blonde detective following Hakuba's march to the front door.

"Something I'm working on," Hakuba muttered. "I'm borrowing your place for storage."

"What_?_!" Kaito exclaimed following after him. At the door, Conan backed up to let them both in, casting Kaito a questioning look.

"What are you working on?" Conan asked following, well mostly limping, to the dining room they had just left, watching Hakuba stack the file boxes against a corner.

"I've been finding discrepancies while I was working in Archives," he muttered. "Discrepancies in the files of cases you identified as having to do with the organization." He looked up and noticed the worried expression on Conan's face. "Don't worry about it too much, Conan-kun. It's probably nothing. I'll let you know if I find anything significant."

Conan gave a solemn nod from the dining room entrance watching Kaito and Hakuba arrange boxes to the blonde's preferences. He hid a smirk when they both jumped like frightened cats, Hakuba dropping and spilling the contents of one of the file boxes, at the ensuing loud knock on the door. "Relax, it's just Heiji-niichan," he stated matter-of-factly, abandoning them to their task and limping to the door. "And what are _you_ so jumpy about?" he asked the overly tense blonde without waiting for an answer.

"Stop with the 'niichan' business! It's creepy!" Kaito called after him. He bent down to help Hakuba pick up the spilled folders. "And he's right," he continued in a more muted voice. "It's not like _you_ to be this touchy. What'd you do? Steal these?" he asked in a teasing voice, opening the topmost folder in his stack and taking a peek at the file that was crossed with heavy black lines. His eyes quickly absorbed the file number at the top and moved on to the rest of the report. "I mean of the two of us, _you've_ got no right to be spooked, _I'm_ the one who's neck deep in detectives and FBI agents and…"

Hakuba rudely snatched the folder out of his hands before he could read anything further. "_No_ I did _not_!" he hissed back, returning the folder to his box and closing it before Kaito could get a better look at the contents.

"… …is there something you need to tell us?" Kaito asked with a raised eyebrow to Hakuba's territorial glare over his file boxes.

Realizing what he must look like, Hakuba forced the tension out of his shoulders, _making_ himself relax. "I don't know yet. Just something odd I found about some old cases. I thought I could borrow this room from you tonight and check over some things."

"Sure, why not," Kaito muttered sitting back down in his earlier seat and taking a swig of lukewarm coffee. "It's just detective central around here anyway."

/

Conan dashed for the front door as quickly as his bruised toes would let him. He frowned in puzzlement when he actually reached the door and realized the doorknob was no lower than it had been when Jodie and James had come by and that no one had followed him from the dining room. He looked around for something to help and finally settled on laying the Kuroba's umbrella stand on its side so he could unlock the door. He jumped off just in time, as Heiji opened the door in the quick sudden way of his and even managed to perform an impromptu one-footed jig filled with a month's worth of soap-in-mouth washing's collection of curse words for the Osakan detective. "Can't you ever open the door like a civilized human being!" he yelled at the detective, once his toes were down to a dull throb, who looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh at him.

"Ah, sorry Kudo," Heiji apologized, bending down to fix the umbrella stand the door had pushed aside. "I thought it was Kuroba at the door."

Conan dropped his glare in favor of an irritated huff. "So how did your meeting with the police go? _You_ sure took a while reporting in."

Heiji's eyes widened in surprise. "You… uh… you found out?" he asked guiltily, backing up against the door in case the shrunken detective was hiding plans of kicking him.

"I did _now_," Conan answered leaning back against the coat closet door and crossing his arms over his chest. He fixed his so-called friend with a sharp withering gaze. "Your face always gives you away when you're feeling guilty about something, like after that phone call you took yesterday. And you just _happen_ to be in Tokyo looking for me the day after I wound up here? Kogoro-jisan was on a case in Chiba at the time and Ran was out of town on a school trip. Agasa-hakase couldn't have found out I was missing in that frame of time. Who called you to look for me?"

"…uhhh…"

"Was it Sato-keiji or Takagi-keiji, at least?" Conan asked, balling his hands into fists under the cover of his crossed arms to force away their anxious trembling. '_Please let it just be one of them looking for me!_' he pleaded silently.

"…a-ahh… S-Sato-keiji," Heiji admitted guiltily with a hang-dog expression.

Conan gave in inward sigh of relief. "So it's just them?"

"Ah, and Yamato-keibu and that widow we met during the Fuurinkazan case," Heiji added.

Conan raised an eyebrow at the confirming news. "So the two of them really _are_ involved in all this. What's going on at their end?"

"With everything that was happening here, I completely forgot," Heiji muttered dropping into a matching pose opposite Conan. "They've found out! They know about the organization!"

"Damn! I knew they were close, but I thought I'd have more time before they actually got that far," Conan mused with a frown.

"They've found a cache of evidence from one of the Mahjong case victims but they won't let me near it," Heiji muttered with an annoyed frown. "I don't think they trust me since I haven't told 'em where ya've been hiding."

"An evidence cache_?_!" Conan exclaimed. "I may have to arrange a meeting with the FBI for them soon before they wind up deeper than they can handle."

"_Me_ they won't let near their files, but _you_ they can't wait to look at that stuff," Heiji griped in a low mumble, still in his fit of frustrated annoyance. "Hey! That reminds me!" He advanced on the still unsuspecting Conan lost in his own musings. He grabbed a fistful of pajama top lifting Conan off his feet to give him a few mid-air shakes. "What the hell were ya thinking jumping off 'a Touto Tower, you aho!"

"…ah …Hey! …Stop it!" Conan yelled, trying to grab onto Heiji's hand holding him up to shift the weight of his body from around his shoulders. "That **hurts** you baka!"

From the dining room, Hakuba poked his head out and Kaito leaned his chair back, hooking his toes on the table's apron, so they could see them from the hallway. "If you break him, I'm _not_ fixing him again," Kaito called looking most unamused at their tiff. "I am _not_ going through that again."

"What are they arguing about?" Hakuba asked Kaito in a low voice.

"I have no idea," Kaito muttered balancing his mug of coffee on his chest, pointedly continuing his observation of the two.

With a huff of annoyance at their audience, Heiji lowered Conan back to the floor but still holding him tight against the wall and dropped to a crouch in front of him to block out the two from the dining room. "What were ya even thinking trying something that crazy_!_?" he hissed in a lowered voice. "That was stupid and suicidal!"

"It's not like I had any other options at the time!" Conan hissed back, equally aware of their unashamed audience. "It worked didn't it!"

"One of these times you're not gonna get lucky and it's gonna be _me_ explaining everything to 'Neechan," Heiji returned in as quiet a voice he could. "You remember that." He released Conan from his pin but kept the boy under his angry glare while Conan straightened his clothes looking at least somewhat subdued. Knowing that was likely the best he could hope for by ways of an apology from the arrogant brat for scaring the crap out of him when he saw that video, he settled for burning holes in the top of the twerp's head while he got himself back together.

"Hey… How… umm… how did you even know about that?" Conan asked in a quiet unobtrusive voice before Heiji stood up.

Heiji held his angry glare and frown a moment longer and Conan was about to start fidgeting from his own nerves, it was the first time Heiji had ever held something over his head he had full right to and it felt horribly uncomfortable, when the Osakan finally relented. "Sato-keiji and them, they have a copy of the security footage from _that_ night. They saw everything that happened with you and 'Neechan at the tower. They showed me all of it." Conan's eyes widened in shock and he looked away from the sympathy creeping into Heiji's eyes and face realizing everything he must have seen. "And they know 'Kudo' was never there." Conan looked back up sharply at that. "It's okay, they didn't make the connection," Heiji said quickly, reassuring him. "They think 'Kudo' is covering for you. But they _are_ awfully worried about ya. I think you need to stop avoiding them. I figured I'd wait until you were feeling okay but I can't play interference forever."

"I know," Conan muttered, "and thanks by the way. I'll call them after we get our own evidence to Jodie-sensei tomorrow." He pushed himself off the wall and started for the dining room where their two eavesdroppers were still watching them.

"They did the paperwork stuff today?" he asked following after him.

"Yup, he's official now," he said walking past Kaito to his chair and to his own mug. "Found out some surprising things about his dad… and mine. I'll fill you in later."

"Show's over?" Kaito asked still hanging upside down over the back of his chair watching Heiji follow the kid without a trace of his earlier anger as if the two had never even argued.

"That coffee?" Heiji asked pointing at the mug on Kaito's chest.

"There should be more in the kitchen," Kaito mumbled while he righted himself and returned all four chair feet to the floor. "Help yourself."

"Want any?" Heiji asked Hakuba now that he could pass unimpeded to the living room and connecting kitchen without a Kaito barrier in the way.

"No thank you, I prefer my drinking a touch more refined. Not that American swill," he answered over his shoulder opening one of his boxes and pulling out his school satchel from where he'd stashed it.

Heiji growled to himself just loud enough for Kaito and Conan to hear and muffle their own snickers knowing quite well that Hakuba had no idea Heiji was glaring daggers into his back. "Green hair, green hair," Heiji mumbled under his breath leaving them all for the kitchen.

"Say, have you figured out how you're going to fix your mother's phone?" Hakuba asked off-handedly.

"Don't remind me," Kaito said, deflating rapidly.

"Here. I found this on an old phone we had in the attic." Hakuba pulled a long, yellowed with age, curly phone cord from his school satchel. "It's not the same model but it's from the right time period," he said dropping the cord on the table in front of Kaito.

"Thanks for the thought, Hakuba, but she's still gonna know. It's her _precious phone_ and all," Kaito muttered burying his head in his arms. "I'm grounded. I'm grounded for life."

"What's so special about a telephone?" Conan grumbled testily, raising an eyebrow at Kaito's pout.

"It's an antique," Hakuba explained. "He cut the cord when I tried to call an ambulance for you." He rolled his eyes at Kaito and sat himself cattycorner from the depressed thief. "She's not coming home for another week, right? We can try some of the antique stores in town. Maybe we can find a closer match."

"It's not gonna matter. She'll _know_ I messed up her phone," Kaito murmured from deep in the nest of his arms. "She won't even let me dust it," he whined, surfacing from his arm cave.

"I think your mom's way too attached to her things," Heiji muttered, joining them at the table.

"It was a gift from one of her friends who died a couple of years ago, a while after dad. A prop from one of her movies that she kept," he explained. "Mom was such a big fan of hers." Next to him, Conan tensed, a feeling of dread dropping from his stomach down to his toes. Instinctively, he sought out Heiji's eyes who frowned noticing the frozen expression on the shrunken detective's face.

"I didn't know your mother knew movie stars," Hakuba mused offhandedly.

"One of Dad's old students," Kaito replied, "There's a picture over the sink in the kitchen." After an exchange of eyes with Conan, Heiji wordlessly put his drink down on the table and disappeared back into the kitchen. "Along with this one's mom," he gestured with his head to Conan, "who's **scary**, by the way. She became a famous actress of stage and screen in America, Sharon Vinyard."

The color drained from Conan's face and he turned, overcome by the most surreal slow-motioning of time, to the newly emerged Heiji standing in the doorway who looked just as grim. Heiji pulled a black-framed photo from behind his back and held it steady for him to see against his chest. The world famous magician and soon to be murdered Kuroba Toichi with his wife and rambunctious child smiled back at him next to his smiling, waving mother and a woman who's image sent shivers down his spine.

"Your mother was friends with Sharon Vinyard_?_!" Hakuba asked incredulously, oblivious of the silent exchange passing between his fellow detectives.

Kaito nodded back. "Know her?" he asked, taking in Hakuba's expression of shocked amazement with secret pride.

"I know _of_ her," Hakuba continued, "The Golden Apple was genius and she was set to receive the Academy Honorary Award at the Oscars the year she passed. She was the first to be given the award post-humously since the 70's. It was a huge uproar that year."

Hakuba gave him a look that was part pity and part amusement. "That phone would have gone to auction at tens of thousands if not hundreds through Christie's. Your mother _is_ going to kill you," he finished, trying not to laugh at Kaito's growing pout.

"Kuroba."

Kaito and Hakuba paused in their discussion at the sheer chill in Conan's voice and noticed for the first time the somber mood between him and the Osakan detective in the doorway.

"Have you ever used that phone to discuss 'business' with your partner?" Conan asked, fixing the thief with a deathly still glare.

Kaito opened his mouth to give the seven-year-old a snarky remark about prying that likely involved curiosity and cats but shut his mouth abruptly noticing the twin stares coming from the two detectives of east and west and the dangerously still atmosphere surrounding them both. "…N-No, I don't think so. Why?"

Conan held his gaze a moment longer, searching… searching for any tell that Kuroba had unwittingly tipped off the organization in any way. "And your father, did _he_ use that phone?"

"Yeah. She gave it to my mom and dad on their anniversary, their last one before dad di… passed," Kaito answered, exchanging a questioning look of confusion with Hakuba to see if he knew what was going on between the two. Hakuba answered Kaito with a subtle shake of his head.

Conan exchanged one last look of desperate dread with Heiji and pushed himself away from the table, ignoring his painfully sore muscles and rushing to the living room as quickly as his body would let him, Heiji following after him, stopping only to drop the picture he was carrying on the dining room table. Kaito paused, glancing down at the picture he hadn't noticed the Kansai detective had, recognizing the picture he had shown Aoko only a couple of days ago. Hakuba sent him a questioning look, wondering what significance the two had found in a conversation about a piece of Hollywood memorabilia. Kaito was in the middle of returning a bewildered shrug when they both heard a discordant tonal 'ching' in the midst of a small crash coming from the living room.

"Not mom's phone_!_?" Kaito murmured with a miserable whine, dashing out into the hallway, Hakuba close at his heels.

/

Conan ignored the entryway cordless phone searching for something unique enough to match Kaito and Hakuba's earlier discussion. He stopped in the living room spotting the pink, gold, and mother-of-pearl inlay rotary phone sitting innocently on an embroidered doily near the kitchen entrance. A closer inspection revealed two flat lines cut into the wall, one above the other, both card-width in size.

"That's it?" Heiji asked from the living room entrance.

Rather than answering, Conan grabbed the broken length of phone cord hanging down the side of the end table and gave a violent yank, pulling the phone to the floor with a noisy cacophonous sound of ringer chimes and small metal parts. The base of the telephone separated on contact with the floor and Conan gave it a light kick rolling the phone on its side and exposing the workings. He crouched down, still careful of the whip-lashed pain in his neck and started digging through wiring.

"**What are you doing to my mom's phone**_**?**_**!**" Kaito yelled, crowding Heiji in the doorway with Hakuba right behind him. Heiji grabbed onto him preventing him from advancing on the shrunken detective, who was blithely ignoring them all, intent on his search, and trapping Hakuba behind them.

"Let 'im work," Heiji said firmly, reinforcing his grip on the wiry teen trying to worm his way past and after Conan. "It needs to be done."

"The hell are you talking about_?_!" Kaito asked frantically, trying to break through past the Osakan. "That's a priceless antique he's ruining!"

"That ya got from Sharon Vinyard!" Heiji shot back. Kaito stopped struggling to glare at him.

"That's been established," Hakuba spoke up from behind them. "What's the problem?"

Heiji held Kaito's glare calmly and finally looked away with a heavy sigh looking back to Conan who had the phone receiver between his knees while he unscrewed the speaking end.

"Sharon Vinyard… aka Chris Vinyard," Heiji muttered gently looking back at Kaito, realizing the blow his next words would likely be to the second-generation phantom thief. "…also known as…"

"Vermouth," Conan finished grimly, holding up his prize for Kaito to see from over Heiji's shoulder. A small piece of circuitry they could all recognize.

Kaito stared in cold shock at the bug a solemn Conan was holding. "…what_?_!" he managed to gasp out even as his legs he hadn't realized were shaking dropped him to the floor leaving him to hang from his wrists in Heiji's grip, staring with empty eyes at the listening device.

"That's impossible!" Hakuba exclaimed stepping up behind Kaito and placing a firm hand on the stunned thief's shoulder, glaring at Heiji and Conan in turn. "Sharon was in her late forties when she died. The actress Chris Vineyard is in her early twenties. They can't be the same person. That's a scientific impossibility."

"I know," Conan answered matching Hakuba's angry glare defiantly. "Chris Vinyard's emergence predates the invention of apotoxin. That fact used to trouble me and the FBI too." He dropped his gaze to Kaito who was staring helplessly at Conan with desperate searching eyes. "But not anymore. There _is_ a way such a thing is possible." Kaito's eyes widened in horror in instant understanding studying Conan's firm gaze of affirmation.

"Pandora."

The name fell unbidden from his lips. His eyes dropped to the floor while every emotion he had felt from the moment the shrieks had started in the theatre when the audience had first realized something was wrong during his dad's last trick to the funeral and more recently when Jii had finally told him his father's true fate, every terror, fear, hatred and fury washed over him leaving him flushed and burning in perspiration and freezingly chilled to the core all at the same time while he hung limply not even noticing Heiji had long lowered him to his knees on the floor ages ago. He started feeling a cool hand on his forehead, looking up abruptly into Conan's piercing blue eyes, he hadn't even heard the little detective walk up to him, searching him in quiet worry. He looked up and around wildly at an openly distraught Heiji who was still holding him upright by the wrists and at the deep concern in Hakuba's eyes above and behind him… and for the first time in his young adult life, Kaito openly, bitterly… cried.

~_fin_~

/

/

/

AN:

A RETRACTION: My deepest apologies to the people of Chicago. I wrote chapter 5(8) with the assumption that Heiji was a Boston Red Sox fan. After actually doing research on his baseball cap, I realize my mistake. I totally forgot about Chicago. My bad. Mea culpa. Heiji is actually a Chicago White Sox fan, his cap is meant to represent the White Sox. I am now 100 percent certain of this & will swear to it on my stack of Conan manga. The Red Sox have used the letter 'B' on their caps since the late 1800s early 1900s. I suck at baseball, I really do. I have gone back & fixed any chapters that I screwed up on. Again, sorry Chicago & any White Sox fans reading this. I site "Baseball: An Illustrated History" by-Geoffrey C. Ward & Ken Burns & "Who's on Third? The Chicago White Sox Story" by-Richard Lindberg as my sources.

Sorry this chapter was so late. For those who didn't read my profile, we had a death in the family & I was preoccupied elsewhere. Things are better now and I have more time to dedicate on writing again. That's really all I have to say on that.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building or Tocho for short is referred to as Tokyo City Hall. It's located in Shinjuku and consists of three buildings. As to whether the police commissioner of Tokyo would have an office there or housing Archives, that is my own bullshitting. However, I wrote that section first and then looked up the building and it really does have a three level sub-basement. Hitsuzen is awesome.

Going Linux: At first I don't even know why I chose to make the Organization Linux based. My own experience with it is limited to a very few passes of Novell and I am by no means an expert or even knowledgeable person as far as Linux goes. More like the extreme opposite. But the more I looked into it the better a fit it seemed. As most of all viruses and hack jobs are Windows based, Linux is much safer an OS to use as far as security goes. It's excellent for the forming and running of large-scale servers, which I'm sure the organization has. And most importantly for my purposes, Linux is very much based in the open-source community and encourages the making and sharing of one's own programs. The Black Organization, which certainly has its hands very deeply in the programming field, can create all their own programs to run whatever they want without leaving any sort of paper trail for what computer programs they use unlike if they were Windows based, somewhere there would be a trail of them purchasing Microsoft Office or whatever they decided to use. Plus I can make up whatever I need for their computers to do without completely bullshitting. So… Yay Linux! (And thanks Rynok and Taichman for teaching me (trying anyways) Linux)

PuTTY is a program (the way it was explained to me) that can tunnel into a Unix system running Linux (Hakuba's tower) from a Microsoft OS (Kaito's tower) in effect slaving a Linux drive through Windows. Kaito and the group can look into the Linux drive from the safety of Kaito's computer and if for any reason they trigger the Night Baron virus on the stolen drive, the virus can't infect Kaito's computer, the flow of data is only one way, they can look at the drive but the drive can't infect the Microsoft tower. Hakuba's tower running the stolen drive would be toast though.

A dictionary attack is a way to find a password by searching through a list of common words (like running through every word in a dictionary) and common variations of those words that someone might use in choosing a password. The success of a dictionary attack relies on people's tendency to pick short passwords (under ten characters) for their computer programs. With longer passwords, a dictionary attack might take weeks or even months to crack an encryption.

TrueCrypt is an unofficial freeware program (Linux wouldn't approve it under the open source initiative) that makes instantly created encryptions, on-the-fly encryptions for files, partitions or the entire storage device. According to wikipedia, in 2010 the FBI tried dictionary attacks against disks protected by TrueCrypt for twelve months after the Brazilian National Institute of Criminology tried for five months during Operation Satyagraha but were unable to break the encryption. I figured this was a perfect program for the Black Organization to implement to protect their systems. Passwords have been recovered from notebook computers running TrueCrypt if the computer was recovered while in power-on, suspended, or screen-locked mode by running certain algorithms on the DRAM or by using the Stoned bootkit if TrueCrypt is run on a win32 platform like Windows. Too bad I had the Organization be Linux users. Although, since I don't use TrueCrypt myself, my depiction of TrueCrypt encrypted files as random strings and Hakuba's ability to recognize _anything_ from the source code is my own bullshitting.

The program I have Hakuba use to crack the Black Organization encryptions exists and is called Passware Kit Forensic. It's a commercially available decryptor and the latest version can break TrueCrypt and BitLocker. It works on Linux along with Windows and Mac and can run from a portable usb device, though I figured Hakuba would be the type to prefer firewire. Tough luck, Black Organization.

Cybercrime Psychology: You may be wondering as to my depictions of Kaito and Hakuba's hack skills. I had a reason for making them so. I based their levels purely on their personal psychologies and the psychology of cybercrime. While the psychology of hacking is many and varied, true elite hackers tend to follow a certain profile that includes but is not limited to: largely male with ages 12-28, a dysfunctional upbringing, very smart but often left bored and without adult supervision, an addictive personality not so much as far as drugs but for the ability to spend hour upon hour at their keyboards an obsessive personality lets say, with a tendency towards Narcissistic Personality Disorder and arrogance. Of the two, Hakuba fits the profile much closer than Kaito. To put it simply, Kaito would lack the patience, analytical addiction/obsession, and personality type to be methodical enough to write his own hack programs. He would be far more likely to find the programs he needs to do the job he wants in the depths of IRC or WinMX. As it's pretty much the most common OS, he would specialize in Windows. And I'm sure he has programs and tools that do a great deal. But he would still be more the type to be a push-button cracker. Hakuba, on the other hand, carries the personality type to fit the kind of high level hacker that excels in the analytical and proclivity for being hyper-specific enough to know several computing languages and the technical patience for writing his own programs and tools. Linux, by its ability to let its users mold their own experience would appeal to his personality type. As far as hacking goes, by his own moral and ethical code, Hakuba would qualify as a white hat. Someone that writes, uses, and learns hacking tools, programs, and abilities for the pure sake of learning them or to stop/track/catch other hackers, for the most part. But Hakuba's strict morals would have kept him on the narrow line of keeping his use legal. By my own personality analysis of the characters and study of the episodes, I rate the boys by technical ability thus from highest to lowest: Hakuba…, Kudo, Kaito, Takagi…, Heiji. (with ellipsis in place for distance in ability, I believe Kudo, Kaito and Takagi are close in level with Takagi trailing them slightly) I consulted the book "Cybershock: Surviving Hackers, Phreakers, Identity Thieves, Internet Terrorists and Weapons of Mass Disruption" by- Winn Schwartau.

Eps Referenced: 1 Roller Coaster Murder Case, 43 Edogawa Conan Kidnapping Case, 48-9 The Diplomat Murder Case pt1-2, 68-70 The Night Baron Murder Case pt1-3, 118 The Naniwa Serial Murder Case, 129 The Girl from the Black Organization and the University Professor Murder Case, 176-8 Meeting with the Black Organization Again pt1-3, 188 The Desperate Revival: The Cavern of the Shonen Tantei, 189 The Desperate Revival: The Wounded Great Detective, 193 The Desperate Revival: The Promised Place, 277-8 English Teacher vs Great Western Detective pt1-2, 286-288 Kudo Shinichi's New York Case Pt1-3, 345 Head-to-Head Match with the Black Organization/Two Mysteries of the Night of the Full Moon, 356 Kaitou Kid's Miracle Midair Walk, 425 Black Impact! The Instant that the Black Organization Reaches, 472-3 Young Kudo Shinichi's Adventure pt1-2, 479 Three Days With Hattori Heiji, 497 Clash of Red and Black! Awakening pt7, 504 Clash of Red and Black: Killed in the Line of Duty, 516 Furinkazan The Mysterious Armored Warrior pt1, 517 Furinkazan Shadow & Lightning Conclusion pt2, 521 Murderer, Kudo Shinichi, 522 Shinichi's True Face and Ran's Tears, M10 The Private Eyes' Requiem

/

/

/


	11. Chapter 6 Metropolitan Police Detective

Disclaimer: not mine. Movie-verse & Anime-verse.

Summary: For Takagi-puppy and Sato-kitty

/

/

**~Chapter 6: Metropolitan Police Detective Story~**

/

Takagi stopped behind Yamato sitting at his desk while he concentrated on tying his tie correctly. "Almost ready to take off?" Yamato asked in a bored voice with a backwards glance.

Takagi nodded, bending to study Yamato's sped up 2x view of NHK's aerial camera. "You've gotten used to running this program," Takagi grinned with a look of approval.

"Don't geek out on me. There just hasn't been much else I can do besides stand guard with the two of you at work," Yamato grumbled. They both fell silent as the timestamp in the bottom of the screen neared the time of the helicopter's attack. Takagi reached forward for the mouse and reset the video to normal speed. Yamato leaned forward in his chair catching sight of movement over the tapestry of clouds in the sky. "Hey…"

"I see it," Takagi answered, watching the dark object grow on the screen. "It's the helicopter," he murmured in a low voice as they watched the aircraft approach the tower. The camera completed a full turn before they caught sight of the helicopter again. As the camera slowly turned, the helicopter approached within 10 meters of the camera dipping down at the last moment out of view. Takagi narrowed his eyes trying to focus on the blurry images just past the helicopter's windows. "Were you able to see who was flying?" Takagi asked, reaching for the mouse again to pause the video.

"Let it run, you can go back to it later," Yamato murmured catching Takagi's wrist firmly. The next time the helicopter flew past the camera in it's spiraling path of destruction, the spotlight the helicopter was shining over the tower obscured any view into the cockpit cabin in shadows despite passing within five meters of the camera. Free of any reason to let the video run further, Takagi backed up to the closest shot the camera had take of the cockpit during its initial approach.

"You can almost see who's flying in this one," Takagi mused, studying the image.

"Any way we can clean it up?" Yamato asked pensively.

"I think so," Takagi answered, "I don't have the program myself, but I know we have it at the station. These aerial cameras are newer than the tower's security cameras and digital so I think we stand a good chance of clearing up this shot."

Yamato nodded, looking down at the computer's clock in the lower corner of the screen. "Aren't you going to be late?" he asked noticing for the first time how long they'd been preoccupied with the footage.

Takagi took one look at the corner clock and took off for the door, grabbing his jacket from where he'd left it over the top of the couch on his way. Yamato watched the door swing shut with an amused grin only to see it flung open again, Takagi running in to grab his car keys from the kitchen counter only to dash out again without a word.

* * *

"Are we really watching what I think we're watching?"

Uehara accepted the binoculars Sato handed her and focused on the subject of their going-on-fifteen-hour-long stakeout, climbing from a tree branch to a second-story window of a house. "Is he breaking into that house_?_!" she exclaimed, turning to Sato in disbelief.

Sato grabbed the camera sitting between them to use the zoom function. She focused in on the Osakan detective, just as he jammed his elbow through the window. "Yes. Yes, I think he is," she answered watching him slip his lanky frame through the window.

"Should we be… arresting him?" Uehara asked, pulling down her binoculars.

"Are you kidding_?_! Things are finally getting interesting!" Sato grinned, leaning forward in her seat and fiddling with the settings on the camera, trying to get a finer focus on the window. "Why on earth would he break into _this_ house? And a first-floor window would have been so much easier. This house barely has any landscaping around the first-floor windows. That window right there, directly under him is completely shielded from anyone on the street seeing by that tree he climbed. He should have broken through that one."

Uehara gave Sato an unreadable look and turned back to watching the window. "We should at least find out who this house belongs to," she murmured to herself, pulling out her cell phone.

"Uh-huh, I leave it to you," Sato replied, studying the upstairs window.

Uehara gave her another side-glance, the corner of her lips pulling up a crack. "You're a bit of an odd one, Miwako-san," she said softly, focusing back on her phone, trolling the internet to identify the house.

"It looks like someone's repairing the window."

Uehara looked up and scrambled for the binoculars she'd set down. Sure enough, the glaring hole Heiji had left in the window had been covered over by something with a dull silver-ish shine. "Tape, it looks like," Uehara replied. She focused on the shadowy forms passing behind the window. "Can you see anyone?"

"No, but I think there's more than one person," Sato replied. "Maybe he got caught?"

"If another squad car shows up, we'll know for sure," Uehara answered.

Sato fell silent, worrying at the camera in her hands. "…You don't think he needs help do you?" she finally asked.

"Wouldn't we usually be on the side of the home owners?" Uehara returned dryly. "He did break in."

"He wouldn't have done it without a good reason. These people must have something to do with Conan-kun," she insisted firmly. "Have you figured out who's house…" They both froze watching the front door of the house open. A lone blonde teenager in a school uniform shut the door behind himself and took off in the opposite direction, rubbing his arms for warmth in the crisp autumn air. "That's… Hakuba-keisou's son," Sato murmured aloud in a stunned voice.

"The commissioner_?_!" Uehara squeaked. "Please don't tell me that boy broke into the commissioner's house!"

"I… knew he lived in Ekoda somewhere," Sato continued thoughtfully. "I don't think it's as bad as you're worrying. I'm pretty sure he's a friend of the Mouri's. He was visiting Ran-chan's school just last week. Maybe Hattori-kun is working with him to find Conan-kun," she suggested.

"By breaking through his window_?_!" Uehara asked skeptically. She shut her cell phone and dropped it back in her purse.

"Don't ask me to explain these teenage detectives," Sato grumbled with a shudder, "I think I'd have an easier time single-handedly catching Kaitou Kid than do that. They're all bizarre. And that Kudo-kun is the scariest one." She sighed checking her watch. "I have a shift coming up soon. I need to get home and change before it gets too late. The people in my department act really strange if you show up wearing the same thing two days in a row. They might start suspecting I've been doing off hours stakeouts."

Uehara raised an eyebrow at that but didn't comment. "Do you want to call off the watch?"

"No. You stay and keep an eye out. I'd really like to know why Hattori-kun needed to meet with the commissioner's son. Maybe the two of them can lead us to Conan-kun," she replied looking up and down the streets. "It looks like I can catch a bus down the street."

"All right," Uehara agreed, trading her binoculars for the camera. "I'll try to catch as much as I can. We can discuss things when your shift is over."

Sato nodded, pulling the door open and leaving the car behind to walk the block and a half to the bus stop pausing only for a deep stretch after spending so long in tight quarters. On her way she pulled her phone from her pocket raising an eyebrow realizing she had forgotten to turn it on after their night of sleeping outside the professor's home. She raised an eyebrow as her phone beeped loudly, alerting her to a waiting text message. She quickly read the message and gave a sigh of relief, feeling some of the tension lift from her shoulders. It was short, but Kudo had finally responded to her message about the upcoming identity release. She was sure he was more than capable of protecting himself. All she had left was to look after the Mouri's and Conan-kun … if they ever found him. Of course now that it seemed they had Hattori-kun and the commissioner's son, a renowned detective in his own right, looking for him, Conan-kun was good as found in her opinion.

She leaned back against the bus stop sign pole, tapping her phone in her hand. She stared down at her phone and finally gave in to her curiosity, scrolling through her address book for the Kansai detective's number, not hesitating a second in dialing his number. The number seemed to ring for ages before it was finally answered.

"Hattori-kun."

"_A-ah, Sato-keiji?_"

"You certainly took a while to answer," Sato mused aloud, she covered her free ear with a hand to mute the squealing sounds of the bus breaking as it pulled to a stop in front of her.

"_Uhh… are you outside somewhere?_"

"Never mind," she muttered, dismissing the matter and boarding the bus. "Have you found him yet?" she demanded.

"_Uhh… actually… no, not yet. No._"

"Hattori-kun! I do hope you're taking this search seriously. We need to get Conan-kun in protective custody as soon as possible, today would be nice," she muttered finding it hard to keep her temper… and sarcasm completely under control. "I thought you understood just how dangerous things are right now!"

"_Yea… Yes, yes I know that keiji-han. Believe me, I know how bad things really are._"

Sato sighed, relaxing her focus until her view out the bus' window was just a blur of colors. The kid's somber tone was starting to make her feel guilty for being so short with him. "Are you sure you haven't any idea where he could be? Takagi-kun and I can slip out of the station and check any places you come up with. We can even pick you up if you want to look for yourself. I'm sure we won't be missed for a few hours," she offered. Her gaze sharpened as she asked her next question. "Where are you?"

"_Me? Uhh… I'm… at Agasa-han's place. I thought he might have some ideas about where the little brat went but no luck._"

Sato frowned listening to his weak laugh. She brought her hand up to bite a nail while she considered her options in the face of his lie. She couldn't think of any reason for him to hide meeting up with the commissioner's son, she was fairly sure the Kansai detective wasn't the type to be prideful about seeking help in order to search for Mouri's lost ward.

"_But ya don't have to worry about me, keiji-han. It's more important that the two of you don't draw any more attention then necessary at the station. I should work on this as far away from the both of ya as I can._"

Sato slammed a frustrated side of her fist against the window drawing disapproving glares from the bus riders around her. "I hadn't even thought of that," she grumbled, blithely ignoring the passengers' reactions. "You're right, we have picked up _someone's_ notice." Her frown deepened hearing his resultant sigh of relief over the line. "But that doesn't mean you get to run around this city scot-free. You _will_ return to Takagi-kun's apartment and keep us informed of what you've been doing, got it!"

"…_alright. I'll drop in as soon as I can. I've got things to take care of today so I'll stop by tomorrow._"

"Hattori-kun!"

"_Tomorrow. It's the best I can do keiji-han._"

"Fine, but you better have something to show for it," she replied grudgingly. "I expect you to have made some kind of progress."

"_Right. I'll see ya tomorrow._"

Sato frowned listening to the drone of the dial tone after he hung up. She hesitated only a moment before dialing Uehara's cell phone number.

"_Miwako-san?_"

"We can't trust him. He just lied to me about where he is," Sato jumped in without preamble. "He doesn't want us to know he's at that house. Stay on him as long as you can. I'll get in contact with you again as soon as my shift ends."

"_Okay. I'll be waiting._"

Sato snapped her phone shut and rested her chin on her hand, still holding tight to her phone. Heiji's sudden secretiveness after his recent pledge to help in whatever way he could was… puzzling, to say the least. They had followed him to Professor Agasa's, where the professor's house full of windows made surveillance fairly easy. He had flown from the residence, frantic from what they could tell and they had followed his beeline straight to the building downtown, Kid's target building, where Yuminaga of the Arson division had allowed him in the building. He'd left the building looking even more shaken then he'd been at the start of their tail and they lost him in his flight through the crowd of on-lookers. It was only after taking a detour around the streets still closed from the fire that morning that they managed to find him again and follow him back to Agasa's.

She closed her eyes while she tried to picture the Osakan's body language from the day before. 'Frantic' was the only word she could use. But when had that changed? She ran the day's events through her mind again. He'd been… calmer that morning, still as tense as he'd been in his searching the day before but less… frightened? She opened her eyes again, watching the world fly by through her window. Her eyes widened as she stared at the Ekoda Police Department passing by the window. Before she could think better of it, she was running down the aisle towards the front of the bus.

"Stop the bus!" she ordered the forty-something man in a blue uniform.

"Sit down, lady! If you picked the wrong line, you gotta wait 'til the next stop like everyone else," he muttered with the practiced indifference of one who'd spent years dealing with troublesome people.

Sato dug her badge from a pocket and shoved her hand in his line of vision. "Stop! Now!" she ordered. She grabbed onto the vertical bar behind the driver at the sudden squeal of the air brakes.

"Uh… sorry about that officer," the driver muttered, hastily pulling the lever to open the doors. Sato spared him a last glare and dashed out onto the street, backtracking to the police building. She stopped at the black bulletin board listing names and office location, trying to pick out whatever had drawn the young detective to the building. A single name drew her attention, the only name on the board she had any familiarity with, and one she could connect to the boy's search the day before. She took the stairs two at a time, ignoring the stares from other officers in the building, until she was standing in front of a door with the name 'Division Two' etched into the glass. She let her hand rest on the door handle for a moment reading the door. Heiji's body language had changed when he left the Ekoda-cho precinct, he'd been… purposeful. Whatever had changed his outlook had happened here. She pushed open the door and walked into the room of task force members studiously bent over their desks.

The hushed atmosphere of the room made her pause just past the doorway. Most of the task force members hardly spared her a glance and she gaped at their tense discipline. She had been expecting the Kaitou Kid task force to be more rowdy.

"You're not here to see the chief too, are you?" one of the men asked in a stage whisper. He was immediately hushed by his fellow officers.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked in a soft voice. Not soft enough as several officers sent her a sharp glare.

"The boss has been in a bad mood since yesterday," someone else hissed back amidst more shushing.

She gave an understanding nod. Her own division had been in the same jam not one week ago. "I'll make this quick then. Did a teenager come here? Around an hour ago? Kansai accent?"

"The loud guy? He almost made the chief leave his office_?_!" someone exclaimed in quiet outrage.

"It's _his_ fault for keeping that guy around!"

Sato followed the pointed fingers of blame to a man she recognized as Nakamori's assistant sitting in a desk closest to the door of Nakamori's private office. With a nod of thanks to the men she'd been speaking with, she made her way towards the desks near the shut office, holding up her badge to the men watching her approach with wary annoyance at being bothered.

"Excuse me, but can any of you tell me what the teenager who was here an hour ago wanted?" she asked in quiet whisper. The men around her exchanged looks of cautious apprehension amid many a check on the closed office door.

"The one who wouldn't shut up?" an officer near the window stage whispered. "He wanted to see the chief. But he left after a phone call. Kept shouting into his phone something about 'Kudo.' Left right after."

Sato's eyes widened in surprise and quickly narrowed in suspicion. "You didn't happen to hear what they spoke about, did you?"

"Um, we really weren't paying that close attention. I think everyone was just glad that he left," Nakamori's assistant added meekly. Sato nodded back, accepting his quiet apologies and left the room still mulling things over. It seemed the detective had made successful contact with the missing Kudo Shinichi, and had immediately dropped whatever game plan he'd been working. She was starting to wonder about the mysterious detective's motives in all this and felt herself swinging to a more suspicious view of the boy like Inspector Yamato had expressed. She settled her thoughts into making up lost time in order to reach home in time to change and make it to work on time. Her thoughts on Kudo would have to wait until she was able to corner Takagi.

* * *

"Sato-san!"

Sato paused in her trek from the elevator to the squad room to see Takagi running her way from the garage complex's entrance. "Takagi-kun? What…" Takagi's finger over his lips stopped her in mid-question leaving him just enough time for him to catch up with her.

"I've got something to tell you," he grinned in an excited whisper.

"What is it?" She barely had the words out when he took hold of her arm, tugging her after him to the snack machine alcove. "Takagi-kun? What are you…?" She flushed brightly feeling the heat travel up her neck to her ears when he backed her into the same corner recess they had gathered at a few days past.

"We found something," he whispered ducking close to her ear, oblivious of her blush obscured by the coffee machine's shadow. "We have almost completely clean footage of the helicopter's approach. If we clean the shot we'll have a perfect view of who was flying it!"

Her complexion was instantly forgotten as she leaned conspiratorially forward. "Usable video evidence? We'll have someone we can identify! This could lead to an actual arrest!" she exclaimed in wonderment. "Can you do it? Will you be able to fix it?" she asked with tense energy, picking up on his excitement and completely forgetting their intimate positions.

Takagi leaned an arm on the wall behind her, his arm passing over her shoulder, to support his bending down to her. "That's just it. The department has the program I need down in forensics. It's not available to the general public so we need to use the station's copy," he answered, his voice lowering as he went finishing in a whisper.

"You mean, we need to steal that program," Sato replied, her eyes lighting up in anticipation of the coming heist.

"W-We don't _really_ need to _steal_ it, Sato-san," Takagi stammered, backpedaling as fast as he could in the face of his partner's quick logic jump to grand larceny. "I just need to find a way into Tome-san's office without anyone finding out. All I need is a copy of the program," he insisted placatingly.

"Eh? That's no fun," Sato replied looking somewhat dashed.

"S-Sato-san…" Takagi let out a sigh of relief watching her enthusiasm deflate.

"We can try during lunch break. Most everyone will be gone," she whispered, "I don't think I can help you much copying this program, but I can be your lookout. How long do you think you'll need?"

"To burn a copy? Five to ten minutes if I'm burning disc to disc," he replied softly.

Sato frowned. Ten minutes was a long time for the forensics department to stay empty. "Alright, I'll try to figure out a way to buy us time," she decided. She flinched at the sudden camera flash, shoving Takagi's arm away in a second.

"Oh, Miwa-chan, the two of you look absolutely adorable!" Yumi managed to exclaim around her laughing, staring down into her open cell phone. Both Takagi and Sato flushed bright red, Sato fighting her way around Takagi's stunned form to make a grab for the camera.

"Yumi! Give me that!" she yelled, giving chase until a group of detectives from vice blocked her way as they left their squad room, effectively cutting off her path.

"No way! This is making the email rumor mill just like that other shot!" Yumi grinned, putting distance between herself and her outraged friend. "Hope you find a good place to hide Takagi-kun!" she called over her shoulder, running for the elevator.

"Damn it! Would you people **move**!" Sato yelled at the men in her way. Said detectives, suddenly faced with a very pissed off Sato, flattened to the walls allowing her to run past them for the emergency stairs.

"Sato-san? What other shot?" Takagi called after her, his blush partially under control and oblivious of the glares the detectives in the hall were sending him for whatever involvement he had in Sato's angry mood.

"Not now, Takagi-kun!" she yelled back, flinging open the door to the stairs, abandoning him in her chase. Recognizing he wouldn't get an answer to his question until after Sato ran Yumi down, he gave a sigh and headed to the squad room alone.

The mood when he entered the room was chilled. Whatever conversations had been running when he walked in ended with every man in the room glaring at him openly. Like most days, he did his best to ignore the attention, but inwardly his skin crawled at the ill-intent being sent his way. He could feel it coming from the room in waves, much more intensely than their normal reactions.

He pulled out his chair and brushed an absent hand across it like he did every morning… and bit his lip yanking his hand back up in pain, holding his wrist steady so he could study his palm, angry red lines welling up with blood streaked across it. He stared at his chair and the numerous thumbtacks superglued to it. A number of light snickers behind him had him glaring back at his abusers, openly amused with his reaction as opposed to their usual anonymity in their bullying.

"Takagi-san! You're back? I thought you were still out for some injury."

Takagi turned back to the desks watching Chiba unload his armload of snacks from the vending machine into one of his drawers to tide him over until lunch break. "Oh, it's… um… fine," he mumbled, yanking his handkerchief from a pocket to wrap his hand. "Do you know who's off duty today?" he asked mildly, eyeing his ruined chair.

"Not really. I haven't been paying much attention to the schedule," Chiba answered absently. "But Shiratori-san and Megure-keibu are going to be in meetings all day," he finished.

Takagi couldn't quite help the grin pulling at his lips. "Thanks," he replied, pulling his chair out and happily swapping it with the absent inspector.

"Was something wrong with your chair, Takagi-kun?"

Takagi looked up in surprise. He hadn't heard Sato's approach at all. "A-Ahh… one of the castors on my chair is broken," he lied with a light dusting of red across his nose for being caught.

"Ehh? That's not very nice to pass your problems on to Shiratori-kun," she muttered, taking her seat across from him.

"Did you catch Yumi-san?" Takagi asked with an embarrassed laugh, deliberately changing the subject.

"Yes," Sato answered simply, pulling a drawer open and tucking her purse away primly.

"And?" Takagi asked, raising an eyebrow at her calm behavior. After nearly a year spent partnered with Sato, he had learned she was often at her scariest when she was behaving 'lady-like.' He hesitantly sat across from her watching her coolly sort through folders with apprehension.

"I owe her a new phone. I'm afraid hers had a little accident… from the fifth floor window."

/

Takagi snuck a look around the corner of the sub-basement corridor. "Is everyone gone?" Sato asked behind him, keeping an eye on the way they had come. Takagi pulled back to give her an answering grin.

"Everyone's gone," he whispered, leading the way past the various laboratories toward the forensics director's office. "I'm still not sure how we're going to get in though," he continued. "Everything down here's locked with digital…" He paused watching Sato breeze past him and punch in a code with the practiced ease of familiarity. The devise on the door obediently lit with a green light and she pushed the door handle, opening the door for him with a smile.

"This used to be Towa-san's office," she explained, enjoying his bewildered confusion with secret glee. "They never change anything around here."

"Alright, I'll let you know how long I need once the disc starts burning," Takagi said, recovering quickly and pulling a jewel case from his jacket pocket. Sato nodded and watched him disappear in the office, taking a post leaning against the wall by the door. Several minutes later, the door cracked open next to her, Takagi poking his head out. "It's going to take twelve minutes to finish," he told her apologetically.

"That long_?_!" She glanced at her watch worriedly. "We'll be cutting it awfully close."

"There's nothing I can do about. The program was bigger than I thought," Takagi whispered back.

"Fine, lets just get this over with," she shot back, eyeing the watch on her wrist. Takagi disappeared into the office again, leaving her to watch the hallways, listening for sound of any of the forensics staff.

/

The sound of the distant elevator brought Sato out of her daze of staring at her watch. She could easily hear the approaching voices and laughter of the tight-knit group of forensics specialists sharing some joke from their ride down the elevator. A fast glance at her watch told her Takagi was still a good five minutes from finishing. She spun, desperately trying to find something she could use. The gossip mill would have it spread all over the building within the hour if they were both caught in the deserted hallways of the sub-basement together. Something whoever was watching them would hardly overlook. Her eyes settled on the red and white fire alarm mounted on the wall across from her. She bit her lip, searching the hallways for sight of any security cameras, instincts long gone cold coming back to her, and thankfully, years of recession had left the hallways of the buried floor far behind the times. With a sharp grin working its way toward gleeful she yanked on one of her gloves, and pulled the handle.

The hallway was flooded with red emergency lights as the fire alarm sirens started screaming overhead. True to standard procedures, the group in the hallway stopped in confusion and turned on the heels, taking the emergency stairs back up. She grinned from her spy point at the corner of the hallway, watching them leave.

"Sato-san? What's going on_?_!" Takagi asked in a worried hiss from the doorway, trying hard not to yell to be heard over the sirens. His glance across the hall, spotting the alarm with its lowered handle, answering his question for him. "Did you do that_?_!" he exclaimed.

"Just finish burning your disk!" she ordered. Walking back to him and giving him a light push back into the office. "We can slip out in the confusion." She gave the forensics director's desk a quick once over and grabbed the small screwdriver standing in his pencil holder.

"What are you doing?" Takagi asked in tense apprehension, following her to the door and watching her attack the fire alarm.

"Erasing our presence," she hissed back, slipping the slim flathead into a keyhole under the apparatus. "These lock up once you pull the handle." She turned the screwdriver and pushed up on the handle, shoving it back into place. "There. Now no one will know the alarm pulled was this one."

Takagi stared at her in a mix of bafflement and surprise, watching her duck back under his arm into the office and return the screwdriver. "How…?"

"I broke up a fight in third grade by pulling the alarm at school," she grinned pulling off her gloves and tucking them back in a pocket. "Some little kid being roughed up by a group of fifth graders. But pulling fire alarms for no reason is a fineable crime, they dusted for prints and I got caught. Since my father was a cop I was let off with a warning. Once I told my father why I did it, he taught my how to reset the alarm bar in case I ever needed to do it again. 'And always wear gloves, Miwako'," she finished in a lowered voice. "Almost done?"

Takagi blinked realizing he'd been staring at her the entire time she'd been explaining. "Umm… it's done." Belatedly, he ejected the disc and stepped back, giving her room to wipe down the computer tower and keyboard. He let himself be shooed out the door watching her wipe away their prints from the door and password lock. "How _did_ they let you become a cop?" he whispered to himself, echoing Ayumi's question of a week ago with an amused light grin tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Lets go," she whispered, watching him tuck the disc into his jacket with a satisfied grin.

"Right." He followed her up the emergency stairs taking care not to touch any of the handrails. The door to the lobby opened into a tumult of bedlam and confusion as sixteen floors of personnel were following their planned evacuation routes and the first of the volunteer firemen for the Beika-cho area started filtering in to the building.

"This way," Sato said in a hushed voice catching hold of his sleeve and tugging him after her through the crowd, pushing her way upstream to the parking garage entrance.

Takagi followed after her closely, tucking around her protectively when a group of much taller officers almost bumped her to the floor. "Are you okay?" he asked her softly, lowering his mouth closer to her ear.

"Fine," she squeaked, stiffening in his arms at the chill that ran down her back after his action ruffled the hair around her ears. She pulled herself out of his hold and kept walking, trusting him to keep up with her and thankful he couldn't see her blush from his position behind her.

She broke free into the empty parking lot, holding the door open for him letting the door fall shut once he was out. "Alright, this place is going to be chaos for the next hour. No one is going to notice if we duck out early," she told him, leading the way to the garage stairs. "You have your keys right?"

"Umm… yes, but… are we really skipping out of work_?_!" he asked following after her.

"I want to see who was flying that helicopter. The sooner we can see who's after Conan-kun the better we can protect him. That takes priority over everything else," she argued back with the finality of a closed matter. Takagi sighed and kept climbing to the floor he had entered the building from earlier that day, following her on auto pilot while his hand ran over his jacket, feeling the outline of the precious jewel case for assurance. He nearly slammed into Sato who had suddenly stopped in the doorway to their floor.

"I left my purse in my desk," she muttered with a soft curse. "Get the car started, I'll be right back." Without a backwards glance, she took off for the station entrance, leaving him to make his way to the car alone.

Sato opened the door cautiously. The hallways of Division One's floor were glaringly deserted and she kept her eyes open for any firemen on her way to the squad room. Convinced no one was going to come around the corner any time soon, she flung open the squad room door… and stopped short.

A dark haired man bolted up from between the aisles of team one's desks and the next row, staring at her rather wild-eyed. "Sakurada-keiji! What are you doing here? I mean, why haven't you evacuated with everyone else?" she asked in surprised bewilderment.

"Ahh… I… lost my phone when everyone scrambled out of here," he replied with a weak smile. "But I just found it," he finished holding up his phone with a small laugh. "Umm… what are _you_ still doing here, Sato-san?" he asked backing out of the aisle as she entered it.

Sato gave him a guileless smile and pulled her purse from her desk drawer. "I know we're supposed to drop everything and leave when the alarm goes off, but it seems I can't be without this today," she replied with a falsely embarrassed laugh. "These emergency drills take so long, you know how it is."

"Oh… um… sure," he replied edging for the door. "I'll just leave you to that." He gave her a short nod of his head and made for the door, leaving her alone in the squad room.

Sato grinned inwardly at how quickly he dropped his questions at the mere hinting of 'women problems.' '_I love how that always works,_' she mused inwardly. As soon as the doors swung closed, she made her way around the desks to Takagi's side and pulled open his drawers one after the other. Nothing _seemed_ out of place. Watching the door again, she moved on to Sakurada's desk, and frowned as she found each one locked. She finally tried the long slim drawer spanning the center of the desk and grinned when it opened without a hitch.

The drawer was a mess of disorganized papers and pens, completely different from Takagi's organized desk. She sighed and tried to skim through the pages without smoothing them out or making any other obvious changes. Most were fast food receipts, stained with grease spots and she dropped them back where she found them in disgust, shoving them deeper in the messy drawer. And it was while she was digging deep in the drawer that the back of her hand came in contact with something slightly grated and plastic in feel, definitely not the cold metal of the desk's frame.

She turned her hand to study the object. It was square shaped, roughly eight by eight centimeters, and around the edges she felt the rough seam of dried glue. It felt a bit like the plastic diskette protectors she'd seen Takagi use for his hard disks. She felt around at the mouth of the square and released the catch. A disk dropped neatly into her hand and she held it up to study. It was a simple black disk with no label. Sending another wary look towards the door, she pocketed the disk and shut the hidden case. After a quick wipe down of everything she had touched in or on the man's desk, she left the room behind, jogging for the garage entrance door and Takagi's waiting car.

"What took you so long?" he asked watching her toss her purse behind her onto the back seat and pull her seatbelt on.

"Another piece of the puzzle, maybe," she answered, holding the disk out for him.

Takagi plucked the disk from her fingers and studied it carefully. "Where did you get this?"

"I'll tell you once we get back to your place. Lets go," she said casting a searching look over the parking garage. "I don't trust this place." Takagi watched her depressed sigh after her last statement with soft worry and closed his eyes with sigh of his own shifting the car in gear and driving them away from the station.

* * *

Yamato watched the computer power down with a tired grin of satisfaction. He could finally say all of the footage from the tower's security had been reviewed. He gave a bone popping stretch and pushed his chair away from the desk. It was while he was in the middle of refilling the coffee maker that he tensed, hand slipping to his holster, hearing the soft sounds of someone at the door.

"It's me," Uehara called from the doorway, shutting the door behind her.

In the kitchen, Yamato relaxed his hand and turned back to the coffee maker with a tired sigh. "I thought you were supposed to be tailing that kid," he muttered, rummaging through cabinet drawers for a new filter. Uehara followed his voice into the kitchen and smiled watching his absent-minded search through cabinets filled with glasses and coffee mugs.

"He left the residence I was watching and I'm afraid I lost him, somewhere around Akasaka," she replied, crossing over to Takagi's pantry and pulling out the plastic bag of coffee filters, holding it out to her partner with an amused smile. He accepted the bag with low grumble. "I decided I may as well come back. Takagi-san and Miwako-san will be coming back from work soon anyway and I have pictures to show them. How were things here?" she asked leaning back against the counter, content to watch her partner figure out the coffee machine on his own.

Yamato raised an eyebrow at her familiar terms with the female Beika-cho detective. "Finally finished watching all those damn videos," he muttered, "But we may have found some footage that can help us figure out who was flying that helicopter. That Takagi-keiji was pretty excited about it. Thinks he can do some of that computer stuff to fix the footage."

Uehara stared at him, stunned for a moment and finally smiled with a calculating elation in her eyes. "That would be astounding if he can. We'll be able to start actively searching for these people," she smiled happily. "Then it'll finally feel as if we're making actually progress with all this."

"…hmm…" Yamato mumbled some sound of agreement, noticing a folder half buried under various crumpled bags of take-out. "Do you know what this thing is?" he asked pulling it out from under the mess.

"I think they brought that here yesterday, maybe?" she guessed, crossing the kitchen to look over his shoulder. Together they skimmed through the itinerary Inspector Megure had created for the botched Kid heist on the cover page and turned the page to a skyline view of the target building before it had been consumed by fire.

"This was the building these people were using as a front, right?" he asked, studying the photo.

Next to him, Uehara nodded absently, absorbed in her own quiet study of the picture. "This _has_ to have been taken from the roof of a nearby building if not the air," she murmured Yamato paused to look up at her with a questioning raised eyebrow. "I might be wrong, but I think Miwako-san hinted that Kaitou Kid himself took these pictures," she finished.

"Now we have eccentric thieves doing police work for us_?_! What is wrong with Tokyo!_?_" he griped under his breath. Uehara reached over his hold on the folder to turn the page as they worked their way through various pages of floor maps and attack position strategies. "These strategies aren't half bad," Yamato murmured, studying the various plans of attack. "This Nakamori guy knows his stuff."

"He _has_ been chasing Kaitou Kid for over a decade. I'm sure he's quite good at such things," Uehara muttered back, turning another page when it seemed like her partner was lost in thought idling over the Division Two inspector's tactics. She paused when the next page yielded pictures rather than more plans. "These are really well done," she mused, turning pages and running a finger over the glossy pictures to shift the glare of light crossing them. "And he even provided a daily schedule for most of these."

"Yeah, well if this thief ever gets tired of Tokyo, you can hire him to freelan… wait!" Yamato grabbed hold of her wrist, stopping her in mid page turn, and pulled the docket from her grip.

"What? What's wrong?"

Yamato held the pages away at arms length studying the two pictures of black-clad men. "I think… yeah, I think I've seen these guys before," he said, reversing the fold of the booklet and handing it over to his partner. "Hold that will you?" he told her absently and slipped his arm back through his crutch and making his way quickly to the computer. "And just when I thought I was finally done with this damn thing," he cursed softly, watching the monitor spring back to life. Uehara stood behind him, watching him pull up the media player and hung over his shoulder while he searched through video footage. Her eyes widened watching the slow-motioned helicopter pass across the camera, its guns firing just low enough to clear the bottom of the camera but just high enough that the cockpit was nearly level with the camera.

"Here. What do you think?" he asked leaning back in his seat, giving her clear sight of the screen.

Uehara leaned close, studying the image. "I'm not sure. That spotlight they're shining is in the way. Can you find a cleaner shot?" she asked in a tense voice.

"All of them look like that. The shots from their approach are just too far away to clearly identify anyone, at least not until the pictures are fixed. Takagi-san said he was going to try to clean the shot with some super program," he muttered, pulling the booklet from her hands and comparing it with the fuzzy shot on screen. They both tensed, hearing the front door unlock, only relaxing when they finally saw Sato step through the door, Takagi following after.

"You two don't like paying attention to schedules, do you," Yamato muttered under his breath, turning back to screen with an irritated sigh. "Aren't you both still on duty for another hour or are you playing hooky now?"

Takagi tensed, hunching his shoulders guiltily. "I… uh… we…"

"Fire alarm," Sato answered in a clipped guilt-free voice, slipping past Takagi to join them at the computer. "By the time we'll be allowed back in the building, it'll be past our shift. Yui-san, you're back so soon?"

Yamato gave her a close, appraising look of suspicion and turned back to the computer screen with a small grin. "Fire alarm. Sure."

"I lost him when he left that house about… forty minutes ago," she answered apologetically with a glance to her watch. "I thought I'd be more help here than roaming the streets trying to find him again."

Sato nodded shifting her attention to the computer. "What are you looking at?" Sato asked, studying the motion-blurred captured image on the screen. "Takagi-kun, is this what you were talking about?" She looked over her shoulder long enough for his nod of confirmation. "Can I see this in motion?" she asked Yamato, tossing her purse to the floor against the wall.

"Sure, just a sec." He backed up the timeline cursor and set the video to play.

Sato watched the screen with an arms-crossed frown with out a single blink as the helicopter blew past the camera, firing rounds into the tower after the fleeing child. "I see what you mean about cleaning this up, Takagi-kun. You can almost make out who's in there. Can you run it again in slow motion?" Yamato obediently restarted the footage. Sato stood still in quiet study watching the windshield of the vehicle as it passed. "Black clothes and it looks like they were wearing hats, that feels a little familiar."

"This maybe?" Uehara asked lightly, holding up the booklet. "We found it in the kitchen and we were just going through it," she said holding it out for Sato, still folded to the page with Gin and Vodka's pictures. "Kan-chan thought the two in the helicopter looked like these people."

Sato's eye lit up seeing the page they had decided on. "These two?" she asked, staring back at the screen sharply, comparing the images.

"Something up with those two guys?" Yamato asked lightly, turning the computer chair, watching the two Beika-cho detectives exchanging glances after Sato held the booklet up for Takagi to see.

"Ah… Megure-keibu told us these two were identified as being _in_ the helicopter… by Kaitou Kid himself when he gave him and Nakamori-keibu these pictures," Takagi explained, taking the docket from Sato and laying it down on his desk for the Nagano detectives to follow. "Kaitou Kid personally witnessed this man in connection with the incident," he said pointing to a picture. "Bodu… Boddu…"

"Vodka," Yamato supplied after a few of Takagi's failed attempts at the word. "Russian liquor."

Takagi nodded gratefully with a light brush of red across his nose for the needed assistance. "And this second man was identified by someone working with Kaitou Kid. Umm… Gin?"

"I think it's pronounced 'Jin.' It's another liquor, like the first guy if that's the reference they're trying to make," Yamato guessed, waving aside Takagi's embarrassment. "If these images really do match, we'll have real physical video corroborating evidence for Kid's witness account, evidence that can put these guys away. That would be astounding… and a powerful move in court," he mused aloud. "It would kill any credibility issues the defense might make about the validity of Kid's story. Now, did you say something about Kaitou Kid working with someone with this?" he asked in clear astonishment.

"Megure-keibu thinks it might be Kudo-kun," Takagi replied, pausing to take in the surprise in the faces of the two Nagano detectives.

"This Kudo guy again_?_!" Yamato exclaimed irritation. "Why am I not surprised!"

"Is that even possible for this detective kid to be in contact with someone like Kaitou Kid_?_!" Uehara asked in clear disbelief. "Not even the police could manage that and they've been tracking that thief for ages!"

"Umm… I… agree with Megure-keibu that this second informant was probably Kudo-kun," Takagi spoke up quietly. "Megure-keibu sounded pretty sure about it and I wouldn't be very surprised if it _was_ true."

The two Nagano detectives exchanged glances of their own, absorbing his words. "So this Kudo boy really _is_ involved even though we know for a fact he wasn't at the tower that night," Uehara murmured.

"That still doesn't explain how _he_ knew who was in that helicopter," Yamato pointed out with a firm frown.

"Unless Conan-kun told him," Sato replied. "Maybe he's trying to claim _he_ was the witness to protect Conan-kun?" she guessed weakly.

"Conan-kun should have come to _us_, the actual police, about all of this from the start," Yamato complained gruffly, dropping his chin into one of his hands, his elbow resting on the desk surface. "Has that Osakan kid found him yet?"

"No, but Hattori-kun will stop by tomorrow to update us on everything," Sato answered in a distracted voice, peering closely at the computer's frozen capture of the helicopter again. "Takagi-kun, can you get started on this? I want to see if these images really match the photos Kid supplied us as soon as possible."

"Ahh… right. I'll get started on it now," Takagi replied, pulling the jewel case from his jacket pocket and crouching to insert the disc into his tower on the ground.

"Before you get started on anything, I'd like you both to look at some pictures," Uehara cut in, fishing the camera out of her purse. "Things picked up after you left," she explained when she noticed Sato's questioning expression.

She flipped back through the pictures she had taken. "Do you recognize _this_ woman? I think she might be foreign?" she asked holding out her camera for Takagi and Sato to see.

"Ah! That's Jodie-sensei!" Takagi exclaimed, gripping the camera to take a closer look. "What's she doing there?"

"Who?" Sato asked looking closely at the buxom blonde woman. "How do you know her?" she asked with a touch of suspicion.

"S-She's one of Ran-san's teachers, her English teacher," he answered, holding up his hands in a placating calming gesture. "I met her on a few cases when she was with Ran-san and Sonoko-san but… I thought she already moved back to America. I'm pretty sure Ran-san told me once she and Sonoko-san were planning a farewell party for her, and I don't see why she would be there for any reason."

Sato held her carefully blank stare on Takagi a moment longer before speaking again. "It could be this women was there for a completely unrelated reason. Can you continue Yui-san?"

Uehara cleared her throat with a last look between the two detectives. "Anyhow, she only stayed for about fifteen, twenty minutes perhaps. She didn't stay long in any case." She pulled the camera gently out of Takagi's hands, still holding on from his earlier exclamation about the blonde woman, and advanced the photo to a shot of Jodie at the front door, holding the camera back out for them.

"And then there was this other boy, but I couldn't get a clear shot. He opened the door and then sat down I think," Uehara said confusedly. "After that woman entered the house, he was speaking with that Hakuba boy you pointed out earlier and they both went inside."

Sato and Takagi studied the photo, staring at the dark haired boy who really did seem to be sitting in the middle of the doorway and mostly obscured by the blonde woman's legs. Takagi advanced the photos, multiple shots of the boy with Jodie's legs in various shifted positions, shots in which Uehara had obviously tried to find a better angle at the boy. When they finally reached photo's after Jodie had entered the house, each shot had the boy with a turned head, speaking with the commissioner's son standing in the doorway.

"There's not a clean shot here of this kid," Sato muttered, handing back the camera. "I don't have a clue who this kid is. Takagi-kun?"

"I'm sorry but I don't either," he answered with an apologetic shrug.

"Alright. This was all I was able to get until I tried following Hattori-kun," Uehara replied, powering down the camera and tucking it back in her purse, stepping aside to allow Takagi back to his computer. "I don't think I'll be able to research this Jodie-san or the boy without attracting attention we don't want. If we were back in Nagano I could probably do more but…" She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, pulling the tie from her ponytail and massaging her head with tired fingers. "I'll try working on the evidence stash a little more. We still have folders to go through."

"Good. I'll give you a hand with that," Sato murmured, following her to the couch.

"Don't settle in. You and I are leaving," Yamato said suddenly, eyeing Sato while he put his arm through his crutch and hefted himself out of the computer chair and making his way down the entry hallway to the door.

"Huh?" Sato stared at him in surprise. "We're what? Where are we going?"

"We have a bit of investigating to do that I'm betting you've been dodging," he muttered holding the apartment door open for her.

* * *

Sato slumped over the library desk staring dully at the glossy magazine in front of her with exhaustion glazed-over eyes, not focusing on the page at all. Hearing the dull thumps of Yamato's crutch, she looked up to see the man approaching with another armload of thick heavy hardbacks, what looked like another five years worth of complied magazines. "More_?_!" she whined dropping her forehead against the table with a soft thump.

Yamato gave her an amused look and tapped the open magazine half under her. "No breaks. You should have done this weeks ago. Having a witness try to identify the vehicle they saw is standard procedure. You should have done this while the details were still fresh," he reprimanded lightly.

She made a rude face at him and dragged herself up to a proper sitting position reluctantly. "But I don't know anything about cars," she whined leaning a cheek against her hand and focusing back on the testosterone driven magazine in front of her and the dark back-dropped pictures of hot rods with scantily clad girls draped over them. "Or care." She turned a page to a new session of sighs and rolled eyes at photos her mother would have grounded her for looking at if she knew no matter how old she was. "Do people actually _look_ at this stuff_?_!"

Yamato looked over her shoulder at the bikini-clad girl straddling a Ducati. "Hey, is that the new model?" He pulled the magazine away from her and started scanning through the article. Sato rolled her eyes and flicked one of the short eraser-less pencils littering the table over the opposite edge of the table to the floor. Yamato pulled the topmost book off the stack he'd just placed on the table and dropped it in front of her without looking up from the magazine. "Start looking through that one," he muttered, walking a few steps away to lean back against the table. Sato glared at him knowing full well he wasn't likely to notice and started turning pages again, staring at cars.

Barely five minutes had passed when she shoved the book away with a frustrated growl. "I really don't think this is going to work," she grumbled, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest with a stubborn pout. Yamato eyed her over the top of his magazine and her pose that would make any rebellious teenager proud. "I told you, I only saw the top half of the car! How am I supposed to figure out which one it is from that_?_!" she growled.

With a sigh he pulled out the chair next to her and sat down heavily, reaching over the table to pull the book back between them. "You probably saw more than you think," he said in a calm even tone and pulled another book from the bottom of his previous stack, flipping it open to a picture of an older type sedan from the late eighties and brought it next to the already open book of more modern cars. "Was the top of the car a boxy shape like this with noticeable angles or was it more smooth and rounded like this other one?"

Grudgingly, Sato leaned forward to look at the two books. "Rounded," she muttered, still mostly pouting.

"Okay. Did it give you the impression of a classic vehicle or would you say more like something from the last ten years?" he asked, closing the book of older cars.

"Modern," she sighed, leaning forward to set her chin in her two hands and watch him thumb through the book she previously rejected in half boredom.

"Okay," he sighed while he turned pages. "Could you see the entire side window?" He glanced over and noted her nod. "Would you say the front side window, from bottom to top, was taller or shorter than the same window on your RX?"

"My what?" Sato asked.

"Your car," he corrected, starting to pick up her aggravated tone in his own voice. "Which one had bigger windows?"

"Oh," Sato muttered, closing her eyes to run the comparison through her mind's eye. "Um…mine?" she decided.

"While you're thinking about it, draw what you can remember," he told her, pressing one of the short pencils and a piece of scrap paper her way.

Sato raised an eyebrow staring at the pencil he was holding out. "You're serious_?_!" She read over his no nonsense look and hesitantly accepted the pencil, staring at the short stubby thing. "Got any crayons, sensei?"

"Start drawing," he ordered, giving her a sharp look at the crack of a grin playing at the corner of her mouth. "Are you always this much trouble?"

"Yes," she replied without missing a beat and looking over her rough sketch. Yamato gave a cross snort. "There. Kind of like that," she said passing the drawing over.

His eyes widened staring at the single side window and small triangle of a window after it. "Well, that's fairly distinctive. It must be a two-door. You drew a… melon in the window?"

"It's a head," Sato growled, glaring at his insult to her art skills, a glare that simmered into an embarrassed blush. "I think I saw a… shadow through the window.

"You drew it sort of angled back. It almost looks like this person is the passenger," Yamato said, studying the sketch.

Sato leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling, thinking over the car on the bridge. "Yeah… I don't think that person _was_ driving," she mused.

"Then we're looking for a foreign car," he muttered to himself, abandoning his current book for a different set of magazines. He started flipping though pages and slid the earlier breast-filled magazine back to her. "Try and find the color you saw," he said, dog-earing his way through the magazine collection.

"Fine, whatever," she muttered back, turning pages and trying hard to focus on the _cars_ and not the cleavage. She blinked and stared at the small shiny triangles barely covering the important parts of that page's particular model. "That color," she said dropping the magazine to the table and pointing to a breast. Yamato picked up the magazine and held it out to study the color in the yellow light of the library desk lamps. Sato flushed lightly looking around to the table of elderly ladies behind them discussing flower arrangements. "Can't you put that down!" she hissed trying to see if anyone had noticed what he was holding.

"Don't worry. No one's paying attention," he muttered, passing her the book of magazines he'd finished marking. "Check those." Now that he had dropped the magazine, she obediently pulled the book open to the first picture, a side view of a Mustang. Yamato looked up to see her staring blankly at the car. He reached out and grabbed her nearest arm, pulling it out from under her chin and held her hand flat over the bottom half of the car.

"Oh! Definitely not that one," she said turning the page and covering the bottom half of the next car. Watching her start working in earnest, Yamato dropped his attention back to his next book of bound magazines to mark.

Sato, for her part, managed to stay productive for almost three magazine's worth of pictures… barely one-third through the bound collection in front of her. Yamato looked up suddenly at the loud thump, loud after they had been working in relative silence, and raised an eyebrow at where she'd dropped her face into her crossed arms over the book. He glanced at his watch and gave an annoyed sigh of his own, she'd only been working for about seven minutes.

"I hate this," Sato muttered in a muffled voice reaching him from the depths of her arm cave. "I hate cars."

"I find that hard to believe," he replied in a trying voice, struggling to keep his growing impatience out of his voice. "I heard stories when I worked with your department about your driving skills."

"What _about_ my driving_?_!" Sato growled defensively, lifting her head high enough to glare at him.

"Enough whining, keep working," he shot back, keeping his own eyes on the magazines he was studying.

Sato gave an aggravated growl and pushed herself up, turning pages again. "There's no way I'm going to find a car just from its top," she argued stubbornly.

"Finish that book and this one and you can take a break," he ordered.

"Yeah, fine," Sato muttered in defeat, turning the page roughly and feeling a smidge of satisfaction hearing the bottom inseam corner of the thin page rip. She looked over the deep blue car set against a dark background… and stared running a finger over the picture. The color was almost right. She turned the page, a picture of the car outdoors, and felt her breath hitch in her chest. Hesitantly, she brought her hand up to cover the bottom half of the car. "…this one…"

"What now?" Yamato grumbled trying to keep his voice low, watching a group of college students claim the table in front of them.

"It's this one," Sato repeated in a stronger voice, pushing the book his way. "I'm positive."

Yamato looked her in the eye, almost expecting some kind of excuse to stop looking through car magazines. He gave a slight nod reading her conviction and looked down at the open book. "This is a Viper. Unusual enough to call attention but I'm guessing it's just as unlisted as the motorcycle you guys tried looking up," he said looking the article over. "But it's a start. There can't be too many of _these_ running round Tokyo," he finished with a wide grin. "We can try the Chrysler dealership tomorrow and see how many of these they've sold."

"So we're done here?" Sato asked hopefully.

"Yeah, just a sec," Yamato replied gathering the pages of the article in a hand and giving a quick yank downward. The thin pages tore out cleanly and he hurriedly folded them into a pocket-sized square.

"You're ripping the book_?_!" Sato hissed looking around guiltily for anyone watching.

"What book?" Yamato answered shoving the pages in his jacket pocket and shutting the heavy hardback. "Lets go," he muttered threading his arm down his crutch and starting for the door. Sato took one last quick look around for any witnesses and rushed after him.

* * *

Sato dashed into Takagi's apartment eagerly, barely waiting for Yamato to make it up the stairs and catch hold of the door for himself. "Takagi-kun! We found the car!" she called rounding the narrow hallway entrance and bursting into his living room. Uehara looked up quickly, startled at her sudden appearance, while Sato looked around the room and kitchen. "Where is he?" she asked the Nagano detective who still had a hand over her chest, waiting for her heart to stop hammering after the fright Sato had given her.

"He's in there," she finally said, pointing to Takagi's bedroom, watching Sato cross the room in quick purposeful strides and fling open the bedroom door, disappearing inside. She raised an eyebrow and bit back a grin at the ensuing tumble of noise coming from the bedroom. "You were able to help her identify the car she saw?" she asked gently, watching her partner pin several pictures of a blue sports car with white stripes on their spider web of investigation mapping on the wall. Her eyebrow rose a second time noting the glossiness of the pictures. "Don't tell me you've got us banned from another library. Didn't I tell you to stop doing that?"

"Can it, Yui. Do you know how much they charged for copies over there_?_! And only in black and white at that," Yamato muttered pinning the last of the magazine shots on the wall. "Besides, if I had to stay there any longer I don't think I could have held onto my temper for much more. I've worked with ten-year-old witnesses that were more cooperative," he huffed standing back to admire the collection of shots of the sleek sports car. Behind him, Uehara tried very hard not to laugh.

/

Sato stood just inside Takagi's room and watched the pair of legs that were sticking out from under his bed, twitching occasionally to push himself deeper, while the man was fishing around for _something_ under there. With a cat's grin, she stepped with careful silence to the opposite side of the bed and gently, lightly, lay down across his bed resting on folded arms just above his legs waiting for him to start backing himself out. She waited until he was almost completely out, his shoulders still hidden under the bed when…

"Takagi-kun."

"AH!"

Sato jumped slightly at the way the bed rose in a sharp jerk under her when Takagi had jumped himself and it was into her wide-eyes part startled and partly amused that Takagi looked up into when he freed himself from under the bed rubbing the back of his head where he absolutely froze solid realizing their faces were inches apart with her perched forward at the edge of his bed. "S-Sato-san?" He felt his face start heating up enough to match the blood rushing to the back of his head where he expected a nice hot bump was in the process of developing and eyed her relaxed pose over his bed. "Ah… w-when did you… um… why are you…"

"What's that?" Sato asked, pointing to the shoebox in his other arm and effectively cutting off his stammering.

"Oh, this?" Takagi pulled his legs forward and tucked them under himself in a more comfortable indian-style pulling the box into his lap and pulling off the top. "It's just stuff from when I was in the academy," he muttered digging through the mess of papers and photos. From her spot on his bed, Sato reached out to pluck a disordered stack of pictures before he could bury them and rolled onto her back holding the pictures up to study them. "Sato-san!"

"I want to see them," she countered studying the pictures of a much younger Takagi in his police academy sweatshirt sitting around a table full of other young recruits at what she remembered to be the library, all of them bent studying not a single one of them aware they were being photographed.

"Umm… that was right before finals," Takagi muttered his face completely flaming when she flipped to the next one, a shot of when his dorm had been ordered to clean their hallway that had turned into the lot of them soaping down the entire corridor with water and thus their personal indoor 'slip and slide.' If he recalled correctly, his roommate had taken several shots of his spectacular wipe-outs. Yes, if her soft giggles told him anything, she had found the shots of his efforts to break every bone in his body. He busied himself with digging through the box looking for what he had originally pulled the thing out for.

Above him, Sato continued flipping through pictures, group shots, posed shots, candids of Takagi with what must have been his friends at the academy, dormmates of his as she started recognizing faces from earlier shots. She stopped suddenly on a shot Takagi's roommate must have taken without him realizing at the time. Takagi was standing with his back to the camera apparently in the middle of changing clothes. The morning light was shining in the dorm room windows and Takagi was still in his lounge pants in the middle of pulling his shirt off, his arms completely tangled with it over his head. His roommate must have meant to take the picture to tease him for getting stuck in his own shirt but in that simple picture she almost gasped aloud at how the image was just so… him. She pulled the picture down closer and ran a thumb over the slim taut back of her partner studying the way the morning light caught the play of muscles over his young twenty-something back… and flushed bright red realizing what she was doing dropping her arms and the pictures to her chest looking up over the edge of the bed to see if Takagi had seen what she'd been doing. Her partner was still busy digging through papers. She watched him sharply to make sure he hadn't just averted his eyes recently. When she was sure he hadn't been paying attention to what she was doing, she lifted the stack of pictures and studied the picture one more time. Slipping a nail between the picture and the next, she dropped the photo onto her chest and palmed it, slipping it down into her hip pocket.

"Here," she said still red in the face and hoping Takagi would think it was from the way her head was hanging over the edge of the bed, holding the stack of pictures out to him.

"Oh," Takagi murmured distractedly, accepting the pictures and dumping them back in the box, his focus busy with the handmade envelope of computer printer paper and staples he was opening.

Taking care not to crush 'the photo,' Sato rolled back over onto her stomach and perched on her elbows trying to see what Takagi was looking at. "What are those?" she asked looking at the computer discs in the envelope.

"Ah. One of the guys in my dorm was amazing at computer forensics, a genius. I learned a lot from him. He had all these programs that could do absolutely anything. Who knows where he found them all. I'm sure some of them weren't legal. He kept them all on a disc he called his 'hack bible'," Takagi muttered, pulling out the discs and studying the backs for scratches. "When we graduated, he made a copy of the disc for whoever wanted one for ten thousand yen."

"You spent ten thousand yen on computer programs?" Sato asked skeptically, watching him inspect his discs.

"No. I spent three," Takagi grinned, turning his mint condition discs back over and rereading the sharpie print on the bottom of the discs: 'for mac,' 'for windows,' and 'for linux.'

Happily tucking them back in their envelope, he hefted himself up from the floor and out the door to his computer desk. Curious, Sato followed after him, barely sparing a side-look to where Uehara had her partner locking the files she had previously run down into brand new binders by chronological order, grumbling about it throughout. Takagi settled, not at his computer as she had assumed but on the floor next to his desk where an open cardboard box full of broken packing Styrofoam pieces and empty plastic bags. She looked up at the computer screen noticing the small window in its center with a blue bar standing at one fourth full. She stared at it for a few seconds but the bar seemed frozen in place.

"What's wrong with your computer? Did it freeze?" she asked, turning to her partner pulling a sleek laptop from the box. "A laptop?"

Takagi looked up into her questioning eyes and back down to the laptop in his hands. "I just bought it today," he explained. "I can get more done with two computers instead of just one." He gave a nod to his desktop computer. "That program we… um… got today is pretty powerful. My computer wasn't really made to run something like that. It's taken from the time you left 'til you got back just to get that far. The footage won't be finished rendering until tomorrow so I bought a laptop to use while that one's busy, and it will be safer to use a computer not linked with that hard drive in any way for internet research."

Sato nodded, vaguely following his explanations. "So… we won't be able to see who was in the helicopter until tomorrow?" she asked tentatively.

"Sometime around mid-morning," he replied apologetically.

"At least we don't have to report in until noon," she sighed, glancing down at her watch. "I should go, my mother's going to be angry enough about last night."

"You forgot to tell her you were on a stakeout again?" he surmised with a touch of a grin, his eyes on his computer screen while it booted up.

"I know," she sighed, crouched down next to him watching the screen over his shoulder. Catching sight of his grin in the screen's reflection, she poked him in the shoulder, hard. To which he grinned wider. "Where's the disk I showed you?" she asked, fighting back her own smile.

Takagi pulled it from a pocket, holding it up for her to take while entering his password on the computer. "You never explained, what is this?" he asked, waiting just long enough to for the laptop to load the desktop before pulling one of the discs from its envelope and loading it.

Sato watched him begin the process of loading each of the programs on the disc with a glum expression. "When I went back to grab my purse, I wasn't the only one still there," she finally replied, setting her chin in her hands, Takagi looked over his shoulder to her, watching the play of emotions over her face. "Sakurada-kun was there. He said he had lost his phone during the rush of everyone leaving."

"That sounds… plausible," he answered vaguely, watching her frown in distraction.

"We pulled that alarm almost fifteen minutes before I went in there. It doesn't take that long to find a phone on the floor," she insisted softly, ignoring the rise of his eyebrow at her 'we.' "And he was looking for it on the floor near your desk," she finished pointedly, watching him frown. "His desk is across the room."

"I know," he said softly. "Did you…"

"I checked your desk as best I could," she answered with a nod. "I couldn't tell if anything was different or missing."

Takagi frowned, following her explanation with an approving nod. "I'll search it tomorrow," he replied.

"So, I checked _his_ desk," she finished with a defiant look in her eyes, daring him to find fault with her actions. "I found that in a disk case glued to the top of a drawer."

Takagi's eyebrows climbed towards his hairline, settling his vision on the small diskette. "Won't he notice it's missing?" he asked in a low voice, sending a cautionary glance to where Yamato and Uehara were working at his couch.

"Can't you make a copy?" she asked, her own voice following suit. "I think he has night shift tomorrow, I can put it back and he'll never know."

"Okay," Takagi replied, minimizing what he was working on and creating a new folder on his desktop. "I'm pretty sure I have an external A drive somewhere." Behind him, Sato made a slight face at his tech jargon. Takagi's hands stilled over his keyboard. "Sato-san? Are we really thinking that one of our co-workers, one of _ours_, is a spy?" he asked softly in a sad voice. "A spy for them?"

Behind him, Sato bent her head forward until her forehead rested against his shoulder. "Yes. I think we have to expect it. We already _know_ they're in our building; we can't pretend our division is somehow safe from them," she whispered. She felt the gentle rise and swell of his chest against her forehead as he sighed.

"Should we let Shiratori-san know?" he asked quietly.

"…no. He'll be safer if he doesn't have to feign ignorance," she said softly. "At least until we can see what's on that disc for ourselves. Hopefully it's something innocent and he's not involved but if he is…"

"What do we do?" Takagi asked, quickly becoming depressed with their options. "Who do we go to?"

"I don't know," she sighed against his back. "We'll think of something."

"Right," Takagi answered in a glum voice.

"I should go," she murmured against his back. A tad reluctantly, she pushed away from him and stood up with a stretch from staying in a crouched position for so long.

"Want me to walk you ou…"

"Don't worry about it," she answered, brushing aside his chivalry with a tired smiled. "I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Hopefully, that footage will be ready by then." Grabbing her purse from where she'd tossed it upon entering, she breezed out with a falsely cheerful wave to Uehara. Takagi watched her go with a worried sigh and bent back to his laptop.

* * *

"Miwako! Are you leaving wearing that!_?_"

"What's wrong with it mother?" Sato asked in a bored voice, pulling a juice can from the refrigerator.

"I thought I told you you should lower the hem another inch on that skirt," the middle aged woman muttered with a long-suffering sigh from her place at the table.

"I can't run if it's _too_ long," Sato answered in the tired auto-response of a familiar argument, popping the top on the canned drink and taking a long swig while gathering her badge and notebook into her purse with her free hand.

"Lady-like, Miwako. Lady-like," her mother reminded in a hopeless tone of one on the verge of giving up the fight. "So are you going to be gone all hours of the night _again_ leaving me to worry without sending a single word?" she asked.

Sato frowned at the obvious guilt trip tone in her mother's voice. "I told you. Takagi-kun and I are on a case. We'll both be putting in long hours on this one for a while," she replied, trying hard not to betray anything… well, it wasn't _actually_ a lie.

"Is that _really_ all you two are doing?" her mother asked in the skeptical no nonsense voice of a parent having her patience tried.

Sato cringed inwardly at her mother's flat tone. "What are you saying, mother? We've been working hard night and day," she argued.

Her mother eyed her sharply across the table. "For someone working late on stakeouts, you've forgotten to take your usual overnight bag pretty often this last week. Just what do you think the neighbors are going to think with you coming home in rumpled clothing in the morning to change before you go to work!"

"Who cares what they think," Sato replied, rolling her eyes at her mother's worry over appearances. "They can think I'm irresponsible with my time all they want. _I_ know that I've _never_ been late for work since the day I started. It's none of their business anyway." Her mother gave her a long look, an eyebrow twitching, not quite sure whether to feel relieved or disappointed in her daughter's naïve obtuseness. Sato tossed the empty juice can in the trash, gathering he purse and side-arm. "I need to go, I have things to get done before I report in." She eyed her mother, drinking her morning tea with a sour look of defeat, with the triumph of winning the argument over her mother's nagging. "No one came by while I was out yesterday, right?" she asked from the doorway, slipping her pumps on.

"Were you expecting someone?"

Sato sighed in light relief. "No. It's nothing, forget it," she said opening the apartment door. "I'll probably be late again tonight," she called, leaving the door open for her mother and rushing down the landing.

"Yes. I know," she muttered collecting the newspaper on their stoop. She cringed slightly watching her daughter nearly collide with a couple of men in maintenance jumpsuits on her way to the apartment complex's elevators, and gave a weary sigh realizing she hadn't paused to apologize. "Masayoshi, what am I going to do with her?" she said to herself in a soft voice.

"Ma'am? Is this the Sato residence?"

She looked up to see the two men her daughter had nearly bowled over standing in front of her. "Oh! I deeply apologize for my daughter's behavior just now!" she exclaimed with a deep bow, startled at their sudden appearance. She hadn't even heard them approach.

"It's alright ma'am. We're with the cable company and we're updating everyone's cable box to our newer model," the younger of the two men said with an easygoing smile. "Do you mind if we come in? It'll only take a few minutes."

"Of course not. Please come in," she smiled, still somewhat flushed over her daughter's embarrassing manners, standing aside to let them in.

The second of the two tipped the baseball cap he was wearing to her with a friendly smile on his way in. "Ma'am."

She returned the man's smile and gave a last look over the railing to where her daughter was pulling out of the parking lot with a loud gravely rev of the red sports car's engine echoing off the concrete of the apartment complex, startling the birds perched on the nearby power lines into flying away in droves amid loud angry squawks. "I swear that girl won't be happy until she's turned all my hair grey," she muttered, retreating back into the apartment and shutting the door behind her.

* * *

Takagi twitched, scrunching his closed eyes where he was dozing in the nest of his folded arms over his desk. Blinking in the morning light filtering in from his apartment's balcony, he looked around trying to find whatever impetus had awakened him. He glanced to his couch where Yamato had fallen asleep somewhere in the middle of his forced organizing chore, his head fallen back against the couch, and to Uehara who had passed out herself soon after, taking up most of the couch lying across it, borrowing Yamato's leg for a pillow and hugging a dark colored three-ring binder to her chest in her sleep, one of Yamato's hands tangled in her loose hair. Failing to find a reason there, he stretched with a wide yawn, turning his gaze back to the computer screen in front of him rubbing the sleep from his eyes. On the screen, the blue progress bar lay full across the window. "Yes!" he cried happily, straightening himself in his chair.

"Hmm?" Yamato pulled his head up, rubbing the back of his neck from sleeping at such an awkward angle. "What's wrong?" he asked in a scratchy voice from just waking. He rested a warm hand on his partner's shoulder, drawing Uehara out of her own sleep.

"It's finished rendering!" Takagi called back, fishing through the spools on his desk for a blank cd. "I'm burning this before we do anything else."

Uehara drew herself up from the couch, flashing her partner an apologetic smile while he tried to rub life back into his numb leg, and climbed over the binders she'd left on the floor the night before to come look over Takagi's shoulder. "For taking so long to enhance, it's burning really fast," she mumbled around a yawn.

"Ah, I just clipped the parts of the video the helicopter was in to enhance," he explained. "This clip I rendered is only about five minutes long." He pulled the completed disc from his drive, slipping it into a spare jewel case and handing it to her.

"Five minutes of video took this long to fix_!_?" Yamato grumbled, joining them at the computer. He stepped aside for Uehara to tuck the disc into the canvas bag on the floor still holding the two yearbooks and a few dozen film canisters. They all looked up hearing the knock at the door, Takagi leaving the computer to open the door for Sato.

"Did I miss anything?" she asked noticing Yamato and Uehara gathered at the computer.

"You're just in time," Yamato called to her, hedging closer to his partner to make room.

"You finished it?" she asked Takagi in surprise.

"Just now. We haven't even watched it yet," he replied with an eager grin.

"Alright! Lets see if Kid was right about who was flying this thing," she grinned with an anticipatory predatorial gleam in her eyes. With a final backward glance to make sure his audience was ready, Takagi started the video slowing it down to a crawling 4x.

On the screen, they watched the silent approach of the helicopter in crisp sharp detail operating with every running light off from the opposite end of the tower where Conan was scrambling for escape from the foreigner chasing him. Watching the time closely under the video screen, Takagi paused the footage at the time he knew was the closest view of the helicopter before the next video segment started. The three detectives around him crowded close to study the screen.

"Two… guys. Those are men for sure," Yamato murmured, studying the black-clad figures in the cockpit.

"Why did they have to wear hats_?_!" Sato complained, bending forward in a vain attempt to see more of the two faces shadowed by the brims of the black hats they were wearing.

"It's because the nose of the helicopter is tipped down," Takagi mused, pointing at the angle of the main rotor. "There's a more level shot from when it's circling." He set the video playing again while they all crowded close, the footage shifting to the clip of the helicopter circling after the fleeing Conan.

"What's wrong with the video? Why does it look weird?" Yamato asked in alarm, staring at the slightly warped coloring of the clip.

"I filtered out the spotlight," Takagi replied, tapping a restless finger on the mouse waiting for his moment to pause the video again. "As best I could anyway. It was blocking the view so I'm using a polarizing filter."

"You can do that?" Yamato mused in soft wonder, turning his attention back to the computer screen.

Takagi tensed as the outmost edge of the helicopter came into view, sliding across the camera from the side and paused the video, advancing manually frame-by-frame. He hardly felt the nails Sato was sinking into his shoulder leaning over him in nervous anticipation. Takagi felt a satisfied grin grow across his face as a clear view of the cockpit windshield started to appear, the filter doing its job of muting the spotlight's glare that had blocked his view the day before. He clicked forward through the timeline, and they watched the first of the two figures occupying the cockpit creep across the screen into view, clear and crisp in a level line of sight to the camera's lens.

Takagi flinched as Yamato clapped him heavily on the shoulder with a happy cheer. "Great job!" Yamato cried, as Sato gave him a tight hug as best she could from her angle. Behind him, Uehara gasped and left their encampment in a rush, digging through the papers on the coffee table and running back with Megure's booklet compilation of photos in hand.

"It's _him_! It's that Vodka person, isn't it!" she grinned excitedly.

"Kaitou Kid was right," Sato agreed in almost gloating confidence, waving off Uehara's offer of the docket. "I knew he would be. Doubter," she teased, grinning madly at Uehara in her glee. In front of her, Takagi rested a hand on her arm, still around him and breathed an exhausted sigh of relief.

Uehara passed the booklet to her partner, Yamato looking over the pictures for confirmation. "How much you wanna bet the other guy is this Gin character?" he asked with a rakish grin of his own. "Keep going," he encouraged Takagi gripping his shoulder and giving it a rough adrenalin-burning shake. Takagi needed little prompting, bending forward again to advance the video. Once more, the view started panning, bringing the second figure, a thin man with pale long hair, taller than his partner, into view, his arms in the visible set position of someone managing the craft's controls.

Yamato glanced down to the slightly out-of-focus photo in his hands. "It's him. We got it. This is convicting evidence. We've got them nailed," he said exchanging an adrenalin-manic look with his fellow Beika-cho detectives.

"We can take them down with this," Sato agreed, brimming with her own excitement. "This is perfect," she said to Takagi, giving him another happy hug.

"…umm… right…" he murmured in a distracted voice, squinting at the video.

"Something wrong?" Sato asked in a soft voice looking back up at the video. Yamato and Uehara quieted and turned their attention on Takagi despite Sato's low tone. Takagi ignored them, looking through his media players functions, taking a snapshot of the frame they were paused on, digging through his folders to find and open the saved bitmap in the stolen video-processing program. They watched over his shoulder while he zoomed the shot larger, scrolling through filters to sharpen the picture again, watching him start the rendering process with a hit of the 'enter' button.

"That was really fast," Sato mused watching the blue bar fly across its window in seconds.

"One picture is very different than five minutes worth of frames," Takagi replied absently. He grinned watching the enhanced picture open on his screen. "I thought so! We have _four_ people!" he announced somewhat proud of his find, to the stunned crowd around him. "This one on the left. It looks like they're wearing a dark colored hat." He stared at the picture a good dozen centimeters from the screen. "And what might be glasses. I'm not sure," he guessed with most of the bulk of the one identified as Vodka blocking his view. "This other one looks like… short light hair. Darker than our pilot but not black. Brown maybe? That's all I can tell. This Gin person is just too tall." He dropped his chin into his laced fingers staring at the picture with a firm frown.

Yamato came out of his stunned stupor first with a low whistle. "Good catch," he mused aloud.

"I wonder if Kid can identify these two?" Sato wondered aloud. The two Nagano detectives looked at her askance. "He identified the first two for us, didn't he?" she elaborated, defiantly crossing her arms over her chest in defense of her loyalty to the phantom thief.

"That's a good idea," Takagi agreed, sending the picture to print. "The only problem is finding him and, doing it without anyone knowing." Sato sighed with the hint of pout at Takagi for pointing out that discouraging fact. Takagi bit back a grin, quite sure of his partner's likely expression, even without looking. "Sato-san, Megure-keibu and Nakamori-keibu were given these pictures by Kid himself, right? They may have a way of contacting him about all this they couldn't tell us about."

Sato perked up instantly at his idea. "I hadn't even considered that," she grinned excitedly. "We'll ask him as soon as we report in," she said decisively.

Takagi bit back another grin, now that her mood had improved, reaching over to his printer to snatch up the printout. "We'll leave this here with you two," he said pulling a manila folder from his desk for the picture and handing it to Uehara. "It'll be safer if no one at our station sees this by accident. If we wind up in a situation where we'll be meeting up with Kid unexpectedly, we'll call," he said in a low voice.

"Good idea," Sato agreed with a frown of her own, Takagi's worried tone bringing her back to earth quickly with the reminder of their conversation the night before and the realization of how true his words were. "We should head in early today. Maybe we can catch Megure-keibu alone," she suggested with a carefully blank face. Takagi studied her expression for a moment and gave her a confirming nod, leaving the computer and slipping into his bedroom to change.

* * *

Takagi jogged down the steps of his apartment and opened the door to Sato's car where she was waiting for him. As he expected, she turned in the opposite direction of their usual route to the station, driving in the general direction of the Mouri's. "You wanted to talk," he mused aloud redundantly, especially considering they were still a good hour and a half early for work.

"Did you check that disc?" she asked quietly, her eyes locked on the road ahead of her while her face was trying its best for a non-expression.

Takagi sighed, looking out the window ahead as well. "It's some kind of banking program… locked with a password but I think I can break it. I didn't have much time to study it. The minute I opened it, it tried to connect with the internet so I closed it."

Sato spared him a side glance. "I thought you turned your internet off a few days ago. When we found out about Conan-kun."

"I did," he confirmed. "But I forgot one of my neighbors has an unsecured network, some college student. The program was auto-connecting through the nearest signal it could find so I had to close it fast. I think I caught it before the connection went through but I'm not sure. My tower's too old to have built in wi-fi so I'll have to try exploring it there. I'll try later now that my tower isn't tied up."

Sato gave him a long look, completely blank for vastly different reasons. "In Japanese, Takagi-kun," she ordered.

"I can't study it on my laptop but I can on my tower now that it's not working on the video," he explained trying not to laugh at her sour expression.

"That's all you had to say in the first place," she huffed with a pout, knowing full well he was secretly laughing at her.

* * *

"You have the disc?" Sato asked as she pulled into the station's parking garage.

"Here." Takagi replied holding out the hard disk to her, already knowing what she was about to ask. She pocketed the proffered disk with a grin for anticipating her intentions. "You'll be careful, right?" he felt the need to ask, catching her light smile.

"Of course," she said, exiting her car before he could settle into nagging.

Takagi frowned, following her out of the car after an impatient huff, knowing full well she was ducking the subject and started his usual routine when they carpooled of walking at her side until they hit the doors to the station where he carefully lagged behind to further distance the idea he had arrived _with_ her and looking for a trash can to ditch his Starbucks cup even though he was only half done. He knew well from experience there would be hell if anyone thought they had had breakfast together.

"Takagi-kun! Hurry up!" she called from the door to their division.

He sighed as he entered the room with every annoyed and pissed off eye in the room on him. At least _some_ things never changed. For an odd moment, it almost made him feel like everything was back to normal… before they were suspecting their own division-mates of espionage.

Remembering everything Sato had told him the night before, he crouched on his knees in front of the column of drawers on his desk and pulled open the bottom drawer, carefully sorting through his folders keeping an alert eye for any changes or absent items. Across from him, Sato lifted her eyes for a flashing glance at him and looked back to her work with an approving smile on her face she quickly bit back.

"What are you doing, Takagi-kun?"

"AH!"

Takagi jumped and turned halfway, blocking his drawer with the side of his body. "Uhh… Fujimaki-keibu…" He looked around the room frantically noticing most of the inspector's Sato Club cronies were watching their exchange surreptitiously from their own positions around the room, their conversations gone momentarily silent. His fingers, hidden by his body position, searched through his desk and closed around the first thing he felt, a small smooth plastic bottle. He palmed the item in a quick move and slid it across the floor under his desk while he turned back to the drawer. Without lifting her eyes from her work, Sato lifted the toe of her shoe, catching the bottle in a football stop and dragged the bottle further under her chair, crossing her legs demurely at the ankles to hide it. "Ahh… m-my white-out it missing. I can't seem to f-find it anywhere," he answered with a light stammer, turning back to his search with more obvious irritation.

"That's too bad," Fujimaki replied, making no effort to hide his smirk at the Takagi's troubles. "Umm… keep looking for it then." Takagi watched him retreat back to the rest of the Sato Club members hanging together on the opposite end of the room who started snickering after the man reported the situation. Glad that his lie had worked, Takagi exchanged a fast look of relief with Sato and bent back to searching through his drawers and trying to keep from cringing every time one of the Sato Club members purposely walked down the aisle in an ambling pace to watch over his fruitless search. Finding nothing in his drawers, he sat staring at his desk in consternation, and thought back to what Sato had said about the night before.

"Sato-san!" he whispered as loud as he dared, watching for her to lift her eyes, which she did with a careful flick around the room in case anyone was watching. "I need to borrow your compact," he mouthed, hoping she would understand. Her eyes immediately lit, catching his intent and bent low, opening her bottom drawer and fishing the item out and placed it on the floor, sliding it under their desks his way, picking up his white-out on her way up and dumping it in her drawer. Takagi flipped the compact open and ran the circular mirror under his desk with one hand while feigning searching his bottom drawer again. He frowned when a re-angling caught a small black square stuck in the far corner of his desk attached under the far corner of the wide narrow drawer over the desk's foot space. From what he could tell, it looked a great deal like the device Sato had found almost a week ago. As casually as possible he stood up, apparently giving up his 'search' for the errant white-out bottle and slipping the compact into his jacket pocket, taking his seat to start working on his reports with a light sigh. Their impromptu half-day the day before left him with more to do than usual. Grabbing a pencil, he lightly wrote the word 'bug' at the top of his report and slid it to the mid space between their two desks for Sato to read. As soon as he caught her confirming nod that she'd read the message, he erased it quickly and inspected the page for any telling pressure marks of what he'd written. Sato, from her side of the table, pushed a page his way with a light penciled message of her own, 'don't touch it, just watch what you say.' He gave an absent nod, pushing the page back towards her with his pencil, keeping his eyes to his report while she erased her own message.

The room went unnaturally quiet, drawing those with their head down, working, to look up when Megure and Shiratori walked in talking in low tones about their meetings the day before, a conversation they stopped the moment the doors of Division One closed behind them. The Sato Club groupies broke up and filtered back to their desks meekly. Megure looked around the room, watching everyone return to their duties with approval, his gaze stopping on Sato and Takagi with a sudden start.

"Sato-kun. Takagi-kun. I need to speak with the two of you," he said in an officious voice, gesturing with a nod of his head to the doors.

Takagi sent Sato a confused look she returned with a shrug as they followed the man back out into the hallways with the members of the Sato Club giving him murderous looks for whatever he must have screwed up to cause Sato trouble. He _did_, however, have the privilege of watching Shiratori jump out of his chair with a loud angry pain-filled curse just as the door was closing. He cleared his voice loudly in an attempt to cover his laughter, an attempt that failed with Shiratori whirling to glare at his retreating form at the sound.

"Is something the matter, Megure-keibu?" Sato asked, following their superior, oblivious of the exchange between Takagi and Shiratori.

"In the conference room," the man muttered softly over his shoulder without pause. Without another word, Sato and Takagi followed him to the same conference room they had been in not two days ago. Hardly waiting long enough for the door to close, Megure rounded on them, locking the door in mid turn. "Sato-kun, I need that docket I let you take," he said urgently in a hushed voice.

"Why?" Sato returned without missing a beat.

"Sato-kun! This is hardly the time to be stubborn!" he argued noting her firm arms-crossed stance. "I need that returned and I expect to see it on my desk tomorrow," he ordered with a tone of finality.

Sato frowned, ready to argue her point when she noticed Takagi standing on Megure's opposite side silently mouthing the word 'xerox' to her. She instantly pulled her mouth back into a frown when she felt the corners trying to pull upward. "Fine. I'll bring it back tomorrow, sir," she muttered with exaggerating begrudgeness. "Can you tell us _why_ it's so important you have that back? You told us it was okay to keep it before."

"Sato-kun, I'm sure you understand what kind of sensitive information that docket is carrying. Investigation of the tower incident is highly prohibited and that booklet could cost any number of people's careers," he said firmly. "Not to mention that information was brought to our attention by a criminal we made no effort to catch," he finished quietly. "I don't mean to imply I don't trust the two of you, but it will just be safer for everyone if I hold on to it."

"Megure-keibu, we would never let anyone find out who might cause you or Nakamori-keibu any trouble," Takagi fretted, somewhat scandalized Megure would even _think_ such a thing.

"It's alright, Takagi-kun," Megure reassured him. "I'm sure neither of you would let any of this information slip on purpose."

"Is that the entire reason, sir," Sato broke in suddenly, giving him a cool stare. Megure looked at her with a carefully blank look. "I'll admit, every reason you just mentioned is true, it's just that those same reasons were just as true the day you let us keep that docket. It just seems to me that you're behaving… spooked for some reason. _I_ think you might be planning on hiding this evidence. Has something… changed?" she asked, lowering her voice to a hushed whisper noting the guilty twinge her superior's gaze.

Megure held his blank stare against her stubborn one just a moment longer before heaving a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry Sato-kun, it's just too dangerous for you to hold onto that docket," he admitted quietly. "Kido-kun has told us some of the photos he gave us are much more sensitive than he previously thought. He wanted them destroyed."

Takagi's eyes went wide in instant worry. "These pictures are _that_ dangerous?" he asked in a hushed voice. "Which ones?"

Megure turned his heavy gaze on the young detective and gave a small smile at the comprehension of just how dangerous the situation may be in his eyes and set a warm hand on the young man's shoulder. He had certainly grown so much from the naïve recruit he used to be. "I'm sorry Takagi-kun, I've already told the two of you far too much." Takagi gave a reluctant nod of understanding. Next to them, Sato had latched on to a completely different part of his warning conversation.

"Megure-keibu, do you mean you've had contact with Kid recently?" she asked slowly, her eyes shining with eager curiosity. "You've spoken with him?"

Megure turned away from Takagi to face her directly. "Ah, no I haven't, he contacted Nakamori-kun. Why?" he asked somewhat bewildered by her curiosity.

"Would that mean Nakamori-keibu has some way of contacting him?" she asked, trying hard to reign in her hopeful anticipation.

"I have no idea, Sato-kun, Nakamori-kun didn't say," Megure mused with a frown, putting two and two together about the eagerness brimming from his detective's expression and posture. "Sato-kun! I seriously hope the two you aren't planning to involve yourself in this tower business! I expressly forbid you to have anything to do with this!" Megure ordered drawing himself up with every imposing look of intimidation he could muster as their division superior.

"Of course not, Megure-keibu," Sato replied readily. "We would never dream of jeopardizing the division's reputation by breaking top secret protocols." Takagi flashed her a secret look of tense alarm for her quick lies to their chief from over Megure's shoulder, a look she readily dismissed.

"Protocols be damned," Megure replied in a lowered voice. "This case could cost you both your lives and I will. not. have that! Am I understood!"

"Yes, sir," Sato replied obediently. Megure eyed her closely and, satisfied he'd made his point, turned for the door. Over his head, Sato glared a clearly flustered Takagi, his face broadcasting every twisting emotion over her blatant lies into submission that by the time Megure looked back at them from the open doorway, he was staring somewhere around his toes and Sato had stepped up behind Megure, blocking him behind her.

"This is the last I want to hear about this business," Megure told them with a tired sigh. "I expect that docket on my desk first thing in the morning."

"Yes, sir," Sato replied, "We understand." Megure gave them a final glare, realizing they were making no move to follow him out and turned on his heel, marching back to their division room.

"…Sato? …-san?" Takagi tentatively drew her attention back from watching their superior leaving. "Why didn't we tell him what we have? Megure-keibu and Nakamori-keibu are obviously doing some kind of investigating of their own. I'm sure there's no _way_ they're dirty. And we've found enough today alone to start making arrests," he questioned cautiously.

Sato sighed, leaning against the wall with arms drawn, crossed over her chest, returning his uncertainty with a firmly stubborn look of her own. "If we told him what we've got, he'd jump at the opportunity to arrest that Gin and Vodka person… and I wouldn't blame him. It's tempting. We have them dead to rights."

"Then why not?" Takagi asked quietly leaning back against the conference table opposite her. "If we have those two in a jail cell, awaiting trial, they won't be on the streets looking for Conan-kun," he reasoned.

"That won't matter if the other two we couldn't identify on that helicopter are still out looking," she replied. "And that still won't do anything about the men watching Matsumoto-keishi, whoever followed us with that motorcycle, and now we have Sakurada-keiji to worry about. I just have the feeling we're not seeing everything, and if we try to take down these two now, we'll lose catching the ones we haven't found yet. We need to catch these people all together at once or not at all. And if we've caught the attention of someone, it's all the more important that they not think we've drawn Megure-keibu into this, not until we're ready to catch them all."

Takagi nodded slowly his own agreement. "I just hate lying to him," he sighed heavily.

"I know," she whispered, leaning her head back against the wall, staring dully at the ceiling tiles. "It's just safer this way." They stood in silence in the room until she broke the silence. "We should head back," she said softly, running a hand through her hair, disheveled from catching on the texture of the wall she'd been leaning on. "Let's go." She shoved open the door, walking back to their squad room without a second look back, quite sure he was following close behind her.

* * *

"I can't believe Nakamori-keibu is going to be stuck in meetings all day long," Sato griped. She punched her foot down on the gas in irritation, taking the off ramp into Beika-cho far faster than the exit's cautionary sign recommended.

Used to Sato's driving habits, Takagi shifted his body's center of gravity on reflex and continued drawing his sketch of the bug under his desk's set-up, half listening to her complaints. "Shiratori-san said Ekoda district was only scheduled for staff meetings today. That means he'll be free tomorrow, right?" he replied, looking over his finished sketch and shutting his notebook, tucking it into his jacket pocket. "Ah…" he dug deeper into his pocket and fished out the compact he had borrowed earlier. "Thanks for lending me this," he said holding it out to her.

"Put it in my purse for me," she muttered with a sigh as her temper slowly petered out. "It goes in my black make-up bag."

"A-Ah… un." Takagi flushed, a dusting of red crossing his nose, while he disobeyed one of the rules his mother had drilled into him since he was a child about never looking in a lady's purse. He prodded a finger through the full bag carefully, searching for the aforementioned black bag, pushing things aside with the caution of bomb tech.

"For goodness sake, Takagi-kun. I'm not asking you to perform surgery," she muttered in annoyed voice watching his hesitation out of the corner of her eye. She roughly grabbed her purse from the armrest between them and dumped it in his lap. "Nothing in there is going to bite you."

"A-Ah… sorry," Takagi stumbled, swallowing hard and bent to search through the bag in earnest. Convinced he was no longer tiptoeing through the task she'd given him, she turned her attention back to the road and route to his apartment… and slammed her foot on the brake when she noticed the dark skinned teenager walking on the sidewalk just ahead of them and, consequently, sending an unprepared Takagi head first into the dashboard.

"Sato-san!"

Sato ignored her partner's whine, lowering her window to call out to the teenager ahead of them. "Hattori-kun!" Takagi gave Sato a wounded look, rubbing his bruised forehead and looked out the windshield noticing the boy for the first time. Ahead of them, said teen froze still, his shoulder's tensing at the sound of her voice.

"Ah-h… Sato-keiji! I was just on my way… uh… like I promised," a flustered Heiji stuttered, withering under her sharp stare.

Sato held her stare on him, watching, secretly enjoying his tension until she gave him a small smile. "Jump in. We'll take you the rest of the way," she replied, unlocking the vehicle's doors with a soft 'click.' Heiji gave a low sigh of resignation, staring out into the golden light of the sunset for a few extra second to draw himself up, and climbed in the back seat.

/

Heiji walked into Takagi's living room with all the resignation of a prisoner facing the firing squad, Yamato and Uehara shutting the binder of legal documents they were studying the moment they caught sight of him before he could look too closely, their suspicious distrust not lost on him. He hung awkwardly standing by the couch while Sato and Takagi followed him into the room. He flinched slightly when Sato clapped a hand in his shoulder and half guided, half forced him forward and down into an easy chair with the two Nagano detectives to his left and Sato and Takagi standing to his right pinning him in place.

"I came like ya asked," he sighed, his hands worrying at the material of his pants but sitting stiffly and returning their gaze evenly.

"Have you found the kid?" Yamato asked giving him a stern glare.

"…not yet," Heiji hedged. "…sort of…"

"Is that a 'no' or a 'yes'?" Sato asked him, crossing her arms over her chest in firm reprimand. "Either you've found him or you haven't."

"I can tell ya he's okay, he's somewhere safe," Heiji started seriously, leaning forward and clasping his hands together between his knees.

"_How_ do you know that? Where did you get this information?" Sato pressed, interrupting whatever he was planning to say next.

"I can't tell ya," Heiji replied matching her probing glare with a stubborn one of his own. "He's safe, okay. He's somewhere safe and I'll bring him in like I promised just as soon as I can."

"Is Conan-kun being kept somewhere far away?" Uehara asked gently, placing a calming a hand on her partner's shoulder, seeing he was ready to pick up his angry questioning.

"Uh…yeah, he is," Heiji agreed. Ekoda-cho _was_ a good distance from Beika-cho when you were on foot, he reasoned to himself.

"Tell us where and we'll pick him up ourselves," Sato ordered curtly.

"I'm not sure exactly _where_, it's more of a general area," Heiji lied, "I just need a little more time, a few more days and I'll…"

"You know I thought you were a sharp kid back when you and the brat we're working that case with Uehara's family, but I must have been mistaken," Yamato growled, his temper rising further than his partner was able to placate. "I thought we made it clear to you how much danger that little boy is in. We can't afford for you to keep taking your time or do we need to have you watch that video of the little thing jumping off 'a Touto Tower again," he fumed.

"Believe me, I know how much trouble he's in," Heiji replied, glaring back. "I'll be able ta bring him to ya in a couple of days." That said, he pushed up and wedged himself past Sato and free of their corral. "I said I'd report in and I did. I'll be back when I get ta him." That said, he pushed past a silent Takagi, who hadn't said a word the entire time the other three had questioned the Kansai detective, heading for the door.

Takagi gave them a quick look, coming to a decision, and turned on his heel following after the irritated teen making his escape. "Hattori-kun, wait," he called in an low urgent voice. Heiji paused long enough to see the detective following him to the door.

"Takagi-kun?"

"Ahh, j-just walking him out," Takagi called over his shoulder, pushing the young detective ahead of him down the hallway to his door. He pulled the door shut quietly with a sigh once he was sure he hadn't been followed, Heiji giving him an odd look.

"Is there something ya needed, keiji-han?" Heiji asked hesitantly.

Takagi gave one last cautious look toward the door and tugged Heiji's arm pulling the teen into a conspiratorial huddle. "You found him, didn't you?" he asked softly. "You know exactly where he is, don't you?"

"W-Why do you think…"

"Is he alright? Is there some reason you can't tell us what's going on?" Takagi pressed.

Heiji studied the worried detective and finally gave a tired sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I know where he is. He's… not so good. But he's somewhere safe. He's been put through a lot. He just needs a little more time and I'll bring him back, I swear," he finished in a quiet plead.

Takagi gave a sigh of his own, leaning back against his door watching the cars fly by his apartment complex. "Alright… just remember we're running out of time. We _must_ have him in protective custody by the time those records get unsealed. I have to agree with Sato-san that he and Ran-san could be in danger when those records are released."

"I know," Heiji replied, "I'm working on it."

Takagi eyed Heiji carefully. He noticed Heiji hadn't told him exactly what was wrong with Conan. "Is Ran-san looking after…?" Takagi asked, leaning his hands heavily on the iron rail considering what the boy had told him.

"No, no she thinks he's staying with me," Heiji broke in, cutting him off. "With me in Osaka," he emphasized.

"But he's not. And you don't want us to say anything to her," Takagi finished, filling in what he hadn't said. "Where is he then?"

Heiji shook his head softly, meeting Takagi's grim expression with a serious one of his own. "Sorry, keiji-han. He's with a friend… and he's safe. You'll just have ta trust me. I'll try ta bring him tomorrow or the day after."

"Alright," Takagi agreed reluctantly

Accepting the Beika-cho detective's word, Heiji started down the stairs… and stopped halfway down, turning back to face Takagi. "Can ya not say anything to them about this?" Heiji asked him, gesturing with a nod of his head back to Takagi's apartment, the tense look in his eyes belying his hope that Takagi would agree to his request, and knowing full well he was asking Takagi to conceal information.

Takagi froze, arrested in the midst of opening his apartment door to turn back and look at Heiji's quiet pleading. "You'll bring him tomorrow?" Takagi asked. Heiji nodded solemnly, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket and tensely awaiting Takagi's answer. Before he could think better of it, Takagi nodded back and ducked back inside his apartment leaving the young Osakan to disappear back to wherever he was hiding the kid unseen.

"What took so long?" Yamato asked the moment he reentered his living room.

Takagi stiffened realizing all three of them were watching him curiously. "A-Ah I was just making sure he had all our phone numbers," he lied quickly, "So he can call us as soon as he finds Conan-kun."

"Oh," Sato replied, going back to looking through the binder Uehara and Yamato had organized the night before consisting of all the files from the first folder. "That's a good idea."

Takagi gave an inward sigh watching them all drift back to their discussion from when he was still outside. "What did I miss?" he asked settling on the ground next to Sato where they were all gathered around his coffee table. Sato handed him the binder she'd been looking through noting his curious look.

"Um… I was asking where I could find the records of parliament's votes on these files," Uehara told him looking slightly stressed and Takagi sensed the exhaustion in her voice of a massive subject change after the irritation and quarreling Heiji had left behind. "I was thinking if we studied the results of voting for all of these proposals, we could find the common names and an idea of which Parliament members might be involved in this group."

Takagi nodded, following her logic and spared a glance to where Sato was folded over his coffee table, her cheek resting on her folded arms. "That… sounds like a good idea," he said eyeing the frustrated look on Sato's face. "What's wrong?"

"Those files are archived at the Tocho building and they're not open to the public," Sato explained with a frown. "The only way to study them is with a subpoena for a legitimate investigation and we'd have to sign in and be under video surveillance even if we did have permission," she muttered crossly.

"Oh," Takagi murmured suddenly understanding the depressed tone of the room. He knew well himself how many security checks and cameras the building had from the few times he'd been there with Megure-keibu for some business or other.

"There's no way we can get that kind of permission without tipping these people off," Yamato grumbled leaning back in his spot on the couch. "Perfectly good evidence just sitting in that building and there's no way for anyone to get at it without being one of them or a damn politician." Takagi perked up at his words, looking over to the stash of folders on the low table Uehara had yet to run down.

"We still need to find a way to do it," Sato muttered from the nest of her arms. "We need to find out how high this goes. The voting results for all these will do it," she finished running an absent finger down the pages of files, reams high, of the folders they had yet to research.

"We can't trick anyone into finding this for us," Yamato mused, stroking a hand over the stubble on his chin while he thought hard. "They'll probably wind up targeted by these people." While he spoke Takagi stood up on his knees and pulled the stack of folders Sato was playing with to his side of the table, oblivious of her curious interest in what he was doing. "I don't suppose anyone has any ideas how we're going to pull this off?" Yamato sighed, leaning his head back and staring up at the ceiling.

Takagi pulled the first folder off the pile and flipped through the pages of yet more watermarked official documents. Sato watched him set the folder aside and reach for another with half interest. "What are you looking for?" she asked raising her head to lean on a fist. Yamato and Uehara turned their attention on him, noticing his searching for the first time.

"Just a hunch," Takagi muttered, opening his third folder… and paused gliding a hand over the typed page with a wide grin, a page written solely in the odd code of Shindou's journal. "And I think I found it," he answered pulling up the first page and setting it down on the coffee table between them all. Sato stood up on her knees to perch over the table, eyes wide looking over the coded page, Yamato and Uehara bending forward in a flash to look over the page.

"What the hell is this?" Yamato muttered with a low whistle.

Takagi bent forward reading over the next page, a short string of the odd code ending with a combination of three Cyrillic characters, a skipped line followed by a paragraph of the strange code, a blank skipped line and then the pattern repeated. A quick skim told him all the pages in the folder were the same. He held the page to the light overhead and noted the same watermark and header from Senator Takano's office. Aside from that, it was lacking the official seal and embossment of the senator's office. "Okakura-san must have used the senator's stationary for all of this," Takagi muttered in the middle of a quick crawl to snag his new laptop by its cord and gently pulling it close enough to grab. "Just give me a sec on this," he said, ignoring them all for a dive into the internet for foreign alphabets. He turned back to the paragraphs, taking a quick count of which Cyrillic characters were being used by the code, the first ten of the modern Russian alphabet by what he could tell.

"I think these are names," he murmured, leaning closer to the coffee table, tapping the paragraph of code. "And these may be numbers, I'm almost completely sure," he continued pointing to the sequences of Cyrillic characters.

"You think so, huh?" Yamato mused looking over the page.

"All the Cyrillic sequences are in groups of three," Takagi replied with a sly grin pulling at his lips.

The three other detectives exchanged stunned looks edging on hopeful. "You mean we already have it_?_!" Uehara asked in growing excitement. "We've had it this whole time_?_!"

"You really think this might be a list of which politicians are on the take from these guys?" Sato asked still somewhat skeptical.

"I think it's a list of which senators voted against on each of the propositions," Takagi replied neutrally, "As a senator's personal secretary, he would have been in the perfect position to find the information and no one would have thought twice about him being in the Tocho building. We won't know more than that until we decrypt this code."

"But you're pretty sure that's what this is," Uehara asked with a growing smile. Takagi didn't answer but grinned his boyish grin, while he returned the page they were looking at to the folder. She held out her hand expectantly for the folder which Takagi passed. She left their encampment to snag a new binder from a bag of office supplies on the floor.

"Are you any closer to breaking that code?" Yamato asked offhandedly.

Takagi sighed, quickly deflating from his discovery. "Not even close," he muttered, burying his head in his crossed arms over the table.

"At least you know which ones are numbers or letters now," Yamato replied. He sighed looking up to the stack of pages and the slim box of plastic sheet protectors Uehara was holding out to him. "Again?" he muttered, accepting his assigned chore with a low curse of frustration.

"Are you going to try figuring out this code now?" Sato asked, watching Takagi pick himself up and dig through some of the loose papers on the table.

"Not tonight," he muttered pulling Megure's docket out of the mess. "I need to make a copy of this for us, remember?" he said with a light smile. "And there's something else I want to try."

/

Takagi looked up from his monitor to give Sato a thankful smile as she set down his cup of coffee. He shifted his desk chair to the side to make room for the extra seat Sato was pulling up. "Thanks," he whispered, watching his partner settle herself next to him. He took a quick look over his shoulder across his darkened living room to the two Nagano detectives asleep on his couch and spare futon. "Are they both…?"

"Completely out," Sato confirmed, hiding a yawn of her own behind a hand. She took a quick sip of her own coffee and studied the computer screen in front of them. "What are you doing?" she asked, setting her elbows on his desk and dropping her chin into her hands.

"I'm running a fringe track analysis," Takagi whispered back, keeping his eye on the program's screen map, watching its progress. "I've never worked with one of these before, it's absolutely fascinating. It reminds me of the old defrag progress map." He glanced to the side and caught sight of Sato's raised eyebrow at his babbling and snapped his mouth shut.

"Right, umm…" He reached out and tapped the external. "The hard drive from the laptop is in here, right?"

"Uh-huh." Sato muffled another yawn trying her best to pay attention to Takagi's explanation in her drowsy state.

"Whoever that man was who impersonated the superintendent filled it with video feeds from the tower security cameras. In order to do that, he erased almost everything on his computer he could to make room. This program is reconstructing everything he erased onto my hard drive," he explained, pointing to his tower. He minimized the map he was watching leaving a folder window open on his monitor.

Sato watched as a new icon joined the handful already in the folder. "So… we'll be able to look at the files he had before he deleted them?" she asked confusedly, trying to force her unwilling mind to follow Takagi's excitement.

"As long as my computer has the programs to open them, yes," he grinned back. "I can research what programs I need for the rest but I imagine this program will at least recreate the folders of whatever programs he deleted. I can find legitimate versions and install them so we can open those files."

"Mm-hmm," Sato murmured, shutting her eyes and letting her mind drift listening to the dull thrum of the computer.

Takagi let out a small sigh once he noticed she wasn't paying attention anymore and pulled up the program map. The analysis was somewhere near halfway through the reconstruction. He switched to the folder and frowned watching the latest icon appear, an icon titled 'KUDO SHINICHI.' "What in the worl…" He jumped, eyes wide, feeling a weight fall on his shoulder. He looked down to see the top of Sato's head of deep brown hair on his shoulder. "S-Sato-san?" he whispered timidly, lifting his opposite hand to… to… he wasn't quite sure what and so dropped it back down to his mouse. To his soft question, Sato made a small 'hmm' sound but otherwise didn't stir and Takagi lost several minutes just watching her, not quite sure whether he should wake her or not… and not really wanting to.

By the time he finally forced his attention back on the screen, the folder had filled with icons and was now adding more below the window's view. He settled his attention on the file sporting the oft-missing detective's name. The icon was the white generic thing his computer defaulted for files requiring an unidentified program to open, but the file was several megs in size. He scrolled through the rest of the window, but the analysis program had yet to start reconstructing any of the laptop's deleted programs. He took a long sip of the coffee Sato had brought him and settled in to wait for the analysis to complete.

* * *

Sato shoved open the door to her car, thoroughly insistent on keeping her foul mood. She had had the most distressing dream the night before involving bikinied girls draped over Takagi's squad car and said man's blushing bashful behavior around them. While the logical part of her brain kept insisting it was just a dream, a rehash of her time at the library night before last and Takagi had actually done no such thing, she couldn't help feeling incredibly irritated with him. "MOVE IT, TAKAGI-KUN!" she yelled up the concrete steps of his apartment complex to where he was pulling his door closed with a free hand while trying to finish tugging on his jacket with the other.

"Coming!" he called back dashing down the steps as fast as he dared. Sato sat cross-armed behind the wheel, drumming her fingers on her arm in impatient irritation. "Sorry!" he gasped breathlessly, climbing in the car next to her, "I almost forgot the docket Megure-keibu wanted back."

"We only have so much time to find and speak with Nakamori-keibu before it's time for our shift!" she scolded in irritation.

"A-Ah… un," Takagi quieted noticing her mood for the first time in their rushed exit after both of them had nearly overslept at his computer desk.

Sato barely waited for him to safely close the door before pulling out of her parking space amid squealing tires, determined to make up for lost time and forcing Takagi to cling good and hard to the overhead handle as he was currently quite seatbeltless. "A-Ah… Sato…-san? Are you… um… mad about something?" he asked hesitantly. She spared him a side-glance, ordering herself firmly not to lose her mood at the timid lost expression in his eyes and refocused her gaze on the road.

"Takagi-kun. What do you think about bikinis?" she asked trying not to make her voice a _complete_ growl.

Takagi flushed lightly at the word, not quite sure what to make of her question and definitely failing to keep the mental image of _her_ in a bikini from his mind. Now his flush was fairly racing down his neck and into his ears. "…th-they're… umm… nice?" he stammered staring somewhere around his knees, desperately avoiding looking _at_ her with such thoughts in his mind.

Sato turned from the road just long enough to glare at his familiar embarrassed behavior. She slammed her foot on the gas.

/

Takagi followed Sato up the stairs of the Ekoda Police Department, making sure to keep a good five paces behind her. He was quite sure she was mad at him for some reason, for what, he had no idea. "Hurry up, it's this way," she called over her shoulder, leading them down a hallway to a door with a wide glass window on it. Takagi caught up in time to take a look and recognize several early bird members of the Kaitou Kid task force inside at their desks before Sato pulled open the door. "Excuse me," she said softly from the door, "Is Nakamori-keibu here yet?"

An officer neither of them recognized near the main office in the back looked up with a firm frown at the two. "Nakamori-keibu isn't taking walk-ins today. You'll have to stop by some other time," he told them coldly in a disdainful voice from being disturbed from his work. Around him, several of the task force members sent him sullen glares. Sato watched their behavior with wide eyes, studying the scene closely.

For some reason, it suddenly reminded her of her encounter in Superintendent Matsumoto's office. "Oh, I see," she replied watching the man closely but he seemed to be ignoring her. She was so busy focused on the man she jumped when a crumpled ball of paper sailed through the air a little too closely into the trashcan right next to the door. Her gaze flew to the officer who had thrown it in a desk only a few meters away. The man carefully held up a hand indicating them to wait and then made a slight shooing motion. Sato sent a careful glance to the back of the room noticing the rude man was actually watching them. She gave a deliberate disappointed sigh and stepped back into the hallway, closing the door behind her. "Come on, Takagi-kun," she said lightly and walked back down the hallway they'd come.

"We're giving up?" Takagi asked skeptically, well aware how out of character it was for her to do so. "Eh?" He gave her a confused look when she stopped and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms.

"We're waiting," she replied firmly. Takagi took in her stance warily and found a spot against the wall for himself a safe distance away in case she was still mad. Down the hall, the same officer that had asked them to wait walked out and looked around, finally spotting them and making his way to them with a couple of empty coffee cups in hand.

"There you are," he grinned, walking up to them. "Nakamori-keibu said to wait for him on the roof," he whispered. "Take a left at the end of the hallway and you'll be at the right staircase."

"Um… what's going on?" Takagi asked softly. "Is there some reason we can't see him in his office?" he asked.

"Sorry about the sneaking around," the officer replied. "It's the new guy. Nakamori-keibu's new assistant."

"I take it he's trouble," Sato replied, suddenly _very_ sure events were running _just_ like the superintendent's office.

The officer looked up at her in a quiet way, noting her solemn tone. "Something like that," he replied. He sent a cautious look back to Division Two's door. "You may have to wait a few minutes. After I bring him his coffee he'll be out for his morning cigarette break. He'll get there then." He gave them a final nod and hurried past them down the hall.

Takagi watched him leave with a growing frown. "What was that all about?' he mused aloud.

"I think I know," Sato replied, pushing off the wall and rounding the corner, following their given instructions. "I just really hope I'm wrong." Without a word, Takagi followed after her with a last worried look to the squad room's door.

/

They hadn't been on the roof long, when the door opened and the Division Two inspector walked out onto the roof giving them each a long look. "You two are some of Megure's underlings, right?" he asked with a deep frown. "What does that tanuki want that he couldn't ask for himself?" he growled, closing the door and leaning back against it.

Takagi stiffened at the insult to his superior but was cutoff from saying anything back by Sato stepping up. "Megure-keibu didn't send us," Sato told him in quiet serious tone. "He doesn't know we're here."

"Oh?" Nakamori crossed his arms over his chest and watched her with interest. "What is it you want then?"

"It's nothing much," she replied with a light smile. "We just needed a little help on the case we're working on right now, help only you can give us. We need to contact Kaitou Kid," she said with a happily innocent smile.

"What_?_!"

"We're working a case that took place the night of the… fire," Sato explained quietly. "A kidnapping. I understand Kid was seen in the area that night."

Takagi cast her a nervous glance, catching her intention, before speaking up. "The case involves a missing child. We haven't had any other leads, so he may be our last hope," he added, following her lead.

"Eh? I haven't heard anything about that on the news?" Nakamori pressed with suspicion.

"There was no ransom note," Sato continued. "This child just vanished."

"And you think Kid would have noticed some random kid being carried away around something as attention grabbing as that huge fire?" Nakamori asked. "If Kid was really there, that is," he added gruffly.

"He'd remember _this_ kid," Sato insisted evenly. "We really _must_ speak with him, anything he remembers could be important."

Nakamori stared her down sternly and finally gave a sigh at her refusal to flinch. "I suppose he _is_ the kind of bastard who'd help you out on something like this. The freak _does_ have a soft spot for people in danger, especially a little kid. Fine. _If_ I see him at a heist or something, I'll… pass the word. Best I can do," he offered gruffly, looking slightly uncomfortable with how close he was coming to admitting familiarity with speaking with the thief.

"Of course," Sato replied noting the man's refusal to admit he's been in contact with the thief recently. "It's not like we think you have the magical ability to reach him whenever you need. That would be silly. If you could he'd already be under arrest." She gave him an understanding smile. "And we promise, we only want to speak with him. Nothing more." She grinned inwardly watching the man relax some, more assured that they weren't there as some kind of internal investigation.

"Fine, fine. I'll mention that," he said a little more sure of himself. "If that's all?" He let the question hang, holding the door open for them.

"Yes, that's all. Thank you," Sato replied with a smile, grabbing Takagi's arm and pushing him through the doorway ahead of herself down the stairs.

"Who should I say is looking for him," Nakamori asked, still holding the door open with a toe and fishing through a pocket for his pack of cigarettes.

"Tell him Detective Sato needs to speak with him," she called over her shoulder as they disappeared around the bend in the stairway.

Nakamori's eyebrows shot into his hairline at the name. "So _that's_ what's going on," he mused aloud, letting the door fall shut and pulling out his lighter.

/

"Sato-san, are you sure we should have told him so much about Conan-kun," Takagi hissed, following her down the emergency stairs. "What if he tells that story we told him to Megure-keibu or it somehow gets out to the press? If anyone of _those_ people hear about it, we could be putting Conan and the friend he's staying with in danger."

"Nakamori-keibu wouldn't do anything like contacting the press that could jeopardize an ongoing kidnapping case," she reasoned in a low voice, giving the stairwell a cautious look down over the edge of the rail searching for any would-be eavesdroppers. "Now hush about it. We should talk about this someplace safe like the car or back at…"

Takagi flinched when she whirled around to face him, and tried to stop in mid step, fighting momentum pulling him forward almost tipping over onto her. She grabbed his arm and yanked hard, destroying what little equilibrium he had left and using her grip to swing him ahead of her face first into the wall. "Sato!" he cried in surprise which quickly became a cry of pain as she twisted her grip on his arm, pinning him against the wall.

"**THE FRIEND HE'S STAYING **_**WITH?**_**!**" she exclaimed, demanding explanation. "**You know he's staying with someone**_**?**_**!**"

"Sato-san… That really hurts!" he managed to squeak out.

"How long!" she demanded. "How long have you known_?_!"

"…last night?" he answered through a wince.

"Hattori-kun! Hattori-kun told you when he wouldn't say anything to us_?_!" she exclaimed. "That sneaky little liar!"

"…I-I'm sorry, Sato-san! I promised not to say anything!" Takagi explained. "Can you let g-…"

"Where is he_!_?" she demanded, forcing his arm another centimeter out of place.

"I-I don't know. He just said Conan-kun was staying with a friend! That's all I know!" he insisted in a tight voice. "Can you please let go?" he begged in a low voice.

"Staying with a friend, huh?" she repeated mostly to herself in a low voice, running her memory back to the house in Ekoda-cho she and Uehara had followed the Osakan detective to. She let go of Takagi abruptly causing him to stagger backwards, and took off down the stairs almost taking them two at a time.

Takagi ran after her, rubbing his sore shoulder as he went. By the time he caught up to her in the parking lot, she was already in the car with the engine started. He reached for the door handle of the passenger side when the car lurched forward a good foot. He made another grab and was equally thwarted when the car moved on him again. "A-Ahh… Sato-san?" He gulped when he looked through the window at the fiercely angry look she was giving him.

"Is there anything _else_ you're not telling me? Anything else about Conan-kun?" she demanded. Takagi froze still at the thinly reined in fury in her eyes. His mind flashed through any number of suspicions and wild theories he'd had over the last year about the odd child completely unsure how to respond. "Takagi-kun!"

"Y-Yes! I-I mean no! That's all!" he stammered uncertainly. Sato gave an angry huff and shifted her car into park. Still, Takagi hesitated in making another grab for the door handle.

"Hurry up already!" Sato ordered, turning away from him to lean an elbow on her door, staring somewhere around her odometer.

Takagi gave her one last cautious look and opened the door, slipping inside. He hesitantly pulled his seatbelt on and, unsure what else to do, gripped his knees staring low somewhere around his feet. "I'm really sorry, Sato-san," he whispered quietly.

"…sorry I hurt your arm," she finally muttered in a low voice. "Now would you stop looking at me like that?" she asked in a low pout.

"Eh?" Takagi froze again, unsure how to respond.

"I can't stay mad when you're looking at me like that," Sato mumbled, staring out at the parking lot with a sullen look.

"A-Ah."

"But I'm still mad at you," she finished, shifting into gear.

/

"Are you sure Conan-kun is really here Sato-san?" Takagi asked watching the two-story house in the middle of Ekoda-cho suburbia. "You've seen him?"

Sato chewed on the nail of her finger a moment longer before answering. "…no," she finally muttered, dropping her hand, "But I'm sure he's here, he has to be."

Takagi watched her firm expression as she stared at the house with unshakable conviction. "Alright. Our shift doesn't start until ten. We've got enough time to keep watch for another hour and a half," he said with a sigh, settling into a more comfortable position. "I hope we don't draw too much attention," he sighed watching the loose groups of students walking down the sidewalk on their way to school. He eyed the dark blue gakuran uniforms the male students were wearing. "Do those uniforms look familiar to you?" he asked in a puzzled voice.

Sato glanced away from the house they were watching to study the school uniforms of the high schoolers milling in the streets. "It's the uniform we saw Hakuba-keisou's son wearing. Back when we saw him at Ran-chan's school," she informed him. "I think _he_ may be the friend Conan-kun is staying with. Conan-kun would probably know him, right?"

"Yes, I know Conan knows him," Takagi replied thinking hard. "Ran-san told me about a case they worked at some mansion and she mentioned meeting Hakuba-keisou's son."

Sato frowned, leaning on her arms over her steering wheel and resting her chin over her laced fingers. She straightened suddenly watching a girl with loose windblown hair exit the home next door and walk in the opposite direction of all the students they had seen so far, crossing over the grass of her front lawn to the front door of the house they were watching. "Takagi-kun," she whispered softly, reaching out blindly to tug at his sleeve.

"I see her," he replied quietly, watching the girl reach up a hand to knock at the door, a door that opened suddenly before she could make contact with the door. "Can you see anything?" he asked trying to see around her into the doorway her body was blocking.

"No. She's in the way," Sato hissed back, leaning to the side trying to see. Their question was answered for them as the girl dropped her school bag and reached down to lift the person in the doorway, someone much shorter than her, who she hugged tightly and swung side to side, one of those side-turns bringing the child she held into view. Sato gasped recognizing the blushing protesting child almost disguised from recognition under his over-sized cold weather clothing. "We've got him!" she cried with a feral grin.

_~fin~_

/

/

AN:

Happy Birthday Kudo Shinichi, May 4, 2012! (You're what, thirty something by now?) Here's to another year of mystery and mayhem!

As I write this chapter, the tv is going on and on about Pandora jewelry. *_*

Football stop = soccer stop

Fringe Analysis: a process by which deleted data can be retrieved from a hard drive even if it's been rewritten. When a drive writes information, it's stored analog since a magnetic head is used to align particles as a 1 or 0. Since magnets create magnetic fields, part of the information written is also written both above and below the line the information was written on, even if the information is deleted and rewritten, the overlapped pieces of information that were writ above and below remain. Fringe analysis recovers the original information from these left over pieces.

Recent AWOL: My deepest apologies for giving you such a long wait. It's almost been a year since I shafted you all with that torture I put poor Kaito through. Again, I'm truly sorry. Everything got derailed horribly in a massive cascade failure and you all had to suffer the long interruption. Halloween weekend 2011, I got horribly sick. It developed into bronchitis and then pneumonia from there. It lasted from Halloween 'til almost the end of January. I was taking a combination of Delsym, Robitussin, Claritin, Nyquil, two different prescription medicines all at the same time like the Molotov cocktail from hell and it didn't even make a difference. I was coughing myself into throwing up so many times a day, I made a stupid-ish choice. There are two medicines I'm supposed to take every day. Seroquel and Wellbutrin, because I'm Bipolar type II. But seeing as I was too sick to keep anything down, and said medicines are VERY expensive, I stopped taking them. I figured I ought to wait until I was well rather than waste medicine and it was not my smartest move. Without these medicines I swing between being up and manic (I totally get Kaitou Kid) when I can't write anything worth reading, I just can't keep my focus long enough to get anything on paper that makes sense, and really bad lows where I just don't care. I can only write (decently) during the rare moments when I'm even and level. Without medication, those times are few and far between, with medication, I can write for days but as I said previously, I stopped taking my medication. Once I was well enough to start in February, it takes two weeks before the medications take effect and since I was in a bad way after being off so long, it took longer than that. It was March before I could get back to working on this story. Again, I'm sorry about that. But never fear, we are back to our regularly scheduled broadcast.

Episodes referenced: 205-206 Metropolitan Police Detective Love Story 3 pt1-2, 219 The Gathered Detectives! Kudo Shinichi vs Kaitou Kid, 253-254 Metropolitan Police Detective Love Story 4 pt1-2, 271-272 Secret Rushed Omission pt1-2, 325 Red Horse Inside the Flame: Incident Chapter, 326 Red Horse Inside the Flame: Investigation Chapter, 327 Red Horse Inside the Flame: Solution Chapter, 358-359 Metropolitan Police Detective Love Story 5 pt1-2, 502 Clash or Red and Black! Innocence pt 12, 503 Clash of Red and Black! Do-or-Die! pt13, 516 Fuurinkazan The Mysterious Armored Warrior, 517 Fuurinkazan Shadow and Lightning Conclusion, 522 Shinichi's True Face and Ran's Tears, 545-6 The Witch Enshrouded by Fog pt1-2

/

/

/

Day 1

* * *

To: Base #xxx

From: Agent-in-Training xxxx

Time: 1800

Report #xxx: Pawn has begun looking into and pursuing events concerning the tower disaster events. Recent behavior is suspect. Possibility of discovery of replacement documentation high. Request new assessment of viability of Pawn and King.

End of Report.

* * *

/

/

* * *

To: Base #xxx

From: Agent xxxxxxxx

Time: 2100

In response to Agent-in-Training xxxxx's recent report:

I would like to argue the importance of retaining Pawn's services. Pawn is absolutely vital to multiple operations within the organization. I respectfully remind the council that the organization has tried to infiltrate Second Division unsuccessfully for over fifteen years. Pawn had been and continues to be our singular source of internal information on the plans and subsequent Second Division's tactics and therefore our best source of information on the machinations of one of the organization's most troubling and public foes, Phantom Thief 1412. Information collected by Pawn has been of great use to Agent xxxxx's missions many times. I hold firm that Pawn is our best bet for the eventual identification of the phantom thief's true identity.

Pawn has also expressed recent interest in investigating the disappearance of Kudo Shinichi. This can only be to our benefit. The organization would do well to follow his progress in the matter, he may very well lead us to resolving this possible loose end.

Pawn is also and continues to be our best devise of control for our hold on King, a method of practice the organization has been happy with and has worked without incident for the past seventeen years. I feel, especially in consideration of Agent xxx's upcoming mission, that the additional loss of Pawn and King would be far too dangerous and risky of public and internal questioning. If the organization truly believes Pawn is becoming a problem, please allow me to attempt an intervention before resorting to elimination orders.

End of Report.

* * *

/

/

Day 2

* * *

To: Agent xxxxxxxx

From: Base #xxx

Time: 0800

Agent xxxxxxxx:

We thank you for your many years of undercover duty. We recognize the great sacrifice you've made for the position you were given. For this reason alone, we grant your request to bring Pawn under control. We recognize that Pawn has been of great use to us in the hunt for Phantom Thief 1412 and we do agree that Pawn has been indispensable in our control of King. However, we also must consider Pawn's temperament and reputation. If he has indeed discovered anything that could jeopardize the organization, steps will have to be taken. We also must advise you that his role in matters concerning Phantom Thief 1412 may no longer hold their previous high status as the organization has finally found means to break into the ranks of Division Two. You will have to consider his status in that mission as downgraded.

We grant you one week to prove that Pawn has been successfully handled.

End of Report.

* * *

/

/

* * *

To: Agent xxx

From: Headquarters

Time: 1000

Mission Status: Approved.

Begin at 1000 tomorrow.

End of Report.

* * *

/

/

/


	12. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: not mine. Movie-verse and anime-verse.

/

/

**Chapter 7**

**/**

Kaito tugged his black turtleneck down over his head and pulled it down over his chest running a hand through his hair hearing the light crackle of the static electric buzz he'd disrupted and sent another cautionary glance at his locked bedroom door, particularly along the bottom gap, for sign of anyone still hanging around in the hallway. It had taken a good half hour for the three detectives currently guests in his house to convince themselves that yes, he really _did_ want to be alone and no, he did _not_ want to talk about anything. He definitely had not taken into account how nosy said detectives could be and having them all together just seemed to amplify the effect. He dragged his sleeved arm over each eye in turn, wiping away the lingering wetness from tears he had barely managed to bring under control.

Feeling the urge to start anew rising, he looked up at the light fixture on his ceiling to force his eyes dry and his gaze fell on the autographed cast shot for The Golden Apple, signed by the entire original cast and given to his parents as a gift of thanks by… _that woman_, framed and affixed high on the wall near his ceiling along with the signed shot from the Dangerous Policewoman cast, photos he had begged so hard of his mother to let him have after his father's funeral, remembrances of his father's only students. His eyes narrowed to a glare at the hated woman in the Golden Apple picture. Until Sharon Vinyard's supposed death, he could distinctly remember how his mother and that woman would chat for hours on the phone every weekend, how she would join them for dinner whenever her busy schedule brought her back to Japan. How many times had his mother or even his father unwittingly revealed information about his father's nighttime whereabouts without even realizing, without ever knowing they were courting his death. He dropped his gaze realizing his eyes were getting watery all over again and scrubbed at them with the cuff of his sleeve even though they were starting to feel raw and sore.

He shoved his tumultuous emotions to the back of his mind, he'd need the ladder to get the damn frame down anyway, and pulled a pair of black gloves and ski cap from a drawer, shoving them in a back pocket. He gave another paranoid look to his door and crossed silently to his window, the same one the Kansai detective had broken and slid it open climbing onto the sill of the high window and crossing over to his tree. Just as quietly, he closed the window behind him and started climbing higher in the thinned out branches until he could cross onto the roof. He tiptoed his way around the familiar squeaky areas to the chimney where he'd hung a backpack with a spare suit and a decent arsenal of weapons, traps, and tricks from the chimney guard. Pulling the backpack back up was a slow tedious process as he couldn't risk dropping a single piece of soot or chip of brick if he didn't want three obnoxious know-it-alls catching him escaping. He tugged on the black backpack and made his way to the edge of the roof overlooking his backyard and a tree that was much easier to climb down compared to the branch-heavy tree outside his room.

He took care to match his climbing to the creaks the tree was already giving in the sway of the light night breeze lest he wake his already sleeping brood of doves in their outdoor hutch. His climb past the first floor put him in sight of the living room sliding doors so he nimbly jumped the last three meters and with a cautious study to make sure the two he could see, Hakuba and Kudo, were too wrapped up in their discussion to notice his silent dash to the loose board in the fence. He let himself out of the Nakamori's backyard and closed the padlock Aoko had given him the combination of years ago. He gave a quick look up to Aoko's dark window and sighed. Even though he knew it was pretty unlikely she'd still be awake so late on a school night, he felt rather disappointed. He rested a hand against the wall of the Nakamori home on the ground level beneath her window and let his forehead thump against the rough texture. Under normal circumstances of the last year and a half, he had come to feel extremely uncomfortable spending time in the house of the inspector hell bent on capturing him despite the decade of imaging the house next door as his second home. But at the moment, he found he most desperately wished she was still awake and he could invite himself over for popcorn fights over one of her detective dramas than be anywhere near his own house. He let himself smile softly as he let his imagination run the predictable scenario of his demands for his imported Illusionist dvd versus her own vote for Detective Samonji which she would invariably win after they threw half their popcorn at each other, she trying to catch him still long enough to shove hot popcorn down the gap at the back of his pants while he aimed popcorn down the front of her shirt. '_When _was_ the last time we watched movies together?_' he thought with a frown, his eyes opening to stare at the wall centimeters from his eyes. He pushed away from the wall with a low growl for drifting off in a daydream in a spot visible from the road in clothes that could have people mistaking him for a burglar… despite the truth behind said presumption and, hitching his backpack higher on his shoulder, crossed over to the sidewalk heading for the bus stop two blocks away.

/

Hakuba walked down the stairs quietly, eyeing the set frown on Conan's face as he flipped through channels on the living room television.

"He left, didn't he?" Conan asked in a voice that already knew what the answer would be.

Hakuba nodded, watching the small boy's sage expression behind the pair of glasses the Osakan detective had finally given him. "Just now," he said claiming the armchair to the side of the couch. "Are you sure we shouldn't be stopping him? He can't possibly be all that steady right now."

"I took precautions," Conan muttered, though Hakuba knew from the set wrinkle between his eyes and the tension in his shoulders he was no happier about the situation than he was.

"Are you sure it's enough?" he pressed, his own doubts clear on his face.

Conan spared him a once-over turning back to his news broadcast with a wry grin. "Trust me," he answered behind a smile.

Hakuba studied him quietly for a moment and giving an exasperated sigh, picked himself up from his seat and wandered back to the dining room still littered with abandoned coffee mugs and pulled a file box from his pile to work on. In the living room, Conan lowered the volume on the tv to a comfortable soft hum and focused his vision on the activated homing screen on his left lens with two red dots moving away from his current position.

* * *

Kaito pressed his back against the wall of the tall building, conforming himself to the shadows the tall telephone poles cast in the empty alleyway and swallowed hard, willing his breath to slow into a silent unnoticeable rhythm. His hand tightened on the loaded cardgun he held pointed down to the ground using his body to shield the gleaming white device, fantastic for his public spectacles and the glaring white of his suit but far too noticeable and identifying in the empty and down right spooky shadows of the harbor's warehouse district.

His nerves and a sudden rush of goosebumps had alerted him of the vague sense of someone following him not long after arriving at the docks and he thanked his paranoid decision not to change into his usual white regalia, his black outfit he dubbed his 'cat burglar look' normally used for casing his heist sites was far more helpful for blending in with the night's darkness. He cursed himself for not noticing his stalker until he had already arrived in the warehouse district. If his follower was a member of the organization, it wouldn't take them long to connect his presence there to the warehouse Hakuba had wanted investigated and he was sure he'd be in major trouble, from both the organization and the collection of detectives currently lodging with him if he blew this one.

He cringed hearing the soft crunch of gravel and the approach of slow careful footsteps at the top of the narrow alley between the two abandoned warehouses he had hidden in. He had hoped the overgrowth of weeds in the meter wide gap between the buildings would help him give whoever was following him the slip but the person seemed able to find him unerringly each time he tried to lose his tail. His finger twitched on the trigger and a hand slipped to the slim pocket on the side of his backpack normally used for pens and pencils and currently holding a few spare flash bombs for emergencies. He may have to fight his way out of his narrow hiding spot.

His vision was suddenly swamped in the blinding brightness of an l.e.d. light shining straight in his eyes leaving his vision blighted with blue-black spots. He brought the cardgun up on reflex and fired off three sharp shots into the light that swung off him wildly and up along the walls of the building behind him. He was just about to fling down a smoke grenade when the stream of cursing behind the light finally registered.

"Damn it, those HURT!" the familiar voice hissed, fixing a very dumbfounded thief staring wide-eyed in a beam of light with an angry glare. Kaito held still as his 'victim' stalked up to him sending the light climbing up the side of the building and dancing wildly overhead as a hand reached out and smacked him upside the back of his head… painfully. "This shirt was a birthday present, ya aho!" Heiji growled in as soft a voice he could manage under the circumstances holding the bottom of his White Sox jersey out and away from his body so he could inspect the three new slashes in the Tadahito Iguchi jersey Kazuha had ordered all the way from Chicago over the internet and completely ignoring the red angry welts starting to bleed plainly visible through the holes in the shirt. "Do you have any idea what that loud mouth is gonna do to me if she sees this_?_!" Heiji demanded smacking the still stunned thief again. "And this was only the second time I wore this too," he moaned. He dropped his hold on the shirt and reached out with a quick deft hand snatching the cardgun out of Kaito's limp grip. "This is confiscated!" he hissed walking past the thief, using Conan's watch to light his way through the forest of weeds and out the far end of the alley leaving Kaito to follow after him.

"What the hell are you _doing here?_!" Kaito hissed back when he finally found his voice, making a quick jumping grab for his cardgun. Heiji lifted his arm with a roll of his eyes, holding the gun high over his head well out of the shorter thief's reach, and kept walking forcing a pouting Kaito, now that he was over his shock, to follow after him. "Are you the one who's been following me all this time_?_! How_?_! There's no way you were on the same bus as me!" he griped, forced to follow if he wanted his gun back.

"You aren't really going to do this by yourself after… everything that happened today?" Heiji asked, hedging around Kaito's recent break down.

Kaito glared at him and the implied doubts as to his state of mind. "…the brat told you to follow me, didn't he?"

"Ahh… maybe?" Heiji mumbled around a grin, shutting off the watch's flashlight function leaving them in the dim light of a streetlight two blocks away considering most of the lights in the warehouse district were in severe disrepair.

"How?" Kaito demanded quietly. Heiji pulled his cell from his pocket and tossed it to the fuming thief's waiting hands. Kaito read through the texted instructions from his 'patient' guiding the Osakan to his hidden alley with a raised eyebrow. "He can see me?" he asked in disbelief.

"Both of us," Heiji confirmed, lifting his baseball cap, exposing the white circular sticker on the bottom of the cap's visor.

Kaito stared at the tracer, stunned for a second time. "Where_?_!" he demanded raising his arms and inspecting his clothes as best he could in the darkness. "When?" He frowned realizing this was the first time the detective brat had gotten away with slipping a trace on him. He sighed in frustration forced to admit that Kudo, as usual, was probably completely right about his current mental status if he had been fooled this easily.

"Considering these things only come in white," Heiji muttered tapping his cap's visor while giving the area a careful sweep, "I'd check whatever ya got in this color that he'd be sure you'd have on ya." He blinked suddenly and brought the cardgun he was still holding high down for close inspection. He grinned and held the gun's handgrip towards Kaito for his inspection.

Kaito stared at the joint of the gun's clip and the narrow edge of the sticker barely visible in the crack. "That little…" He reached for the gun which was pulled away abruptly as the Osakan tucked his cardgun in the back of his pants and started walking away, turning the watch's light back on searching the nearby warehouses for their address numbers and completely unawares of the phantom thief glaring at his back.

"Come on. You're looking for the warehouse that snob asked ya to find, right?" he tossed over a shoulder.

"You know, I _usually_ work alone," Kaito growled pulling the memo Hakuba copied from a pocket, following after him. "I can do this faster and **quieter** by myself. And shut off that light! Someone's going to notice!" he hissed angrily.

"Yeah. Not happening," Heiji muttered back breezily continuing his sweep of the buildings to either side of them as they walked down the road. "And once Kudo and I were sure where you were going I caught a cab and got here early. No stops like on a bus." Kaito caught up enough to walk beside the detective still shooting him the odd glare. "I already checked the place out. Did you know they don't have guards on watch out here anymore? Some recent budget cut, Kudo said. The whole place is wired with cameras instead." He focused the light overhead to a camera high on a dead light pole practically invisible in the shadows.

"All the more reason for you to turn off the light so we're harder to see!" Kaito hissed impatiently, tugging his black ski cap lower over his brow.

"Yeah, I guess that would be a problem," Heiji muttered making no move to turn off the watchlight and focusing the beam on a new building's number, "if I hadn't already shorted out the fuse box for this section of the district. Come on, Kudo said the building we want is somewhere around here. I'll take the right if you take the left."

Kaito bit back a grin once he got over his astonishment at the Kansai detective's 'skill.' "You know, you might just have potential," he grinned pulling out a pencil thin flashlight from his backpack and wandering closer to the opposite side of the road. "Let me know if the detective thing ever gets dull."

Heiji grinned back, feeling much more at ease now that the thief had finally smiled. "Yeah well that 'potential' you see is totally Kudo's fault. It was his idea to bust up the power. He's got a way of corrupting you before ya know it and dull is one thing that's impossible with the messes _he_ gets into," he tossed back. He shone his light on the next building down the line. "Hey, I think we found it," he called to the thief, reading the warehouse number over again and walking up to the steel door. Unlike the other warehouses they had passed, the door had no window they could spy through. He reached out a hand to try the door.

"Don't touch it!" Kaito ordered running up to him. "If it's one of _their_ buildings, it's probably chock full of alarms and booby traps."

"Oh, right," Heiji muttered in embarrassment for making such a rookie mistake and backed up for Kaito to work.

Kaito ran a flashlight around the perimeter of the door with an appraising eye. "No wires visible…" he murmured mostly to himself. His eyes settled on the simple padlock over the keyhole. "Lets start with this." Heiji stood back and trained the watchlight on the padlock while Kaito attacked it with his lockpicks. He let out a soft whistle when the thief handed him the open lock within mere seconds. Kaito bit back a smug smile at his audience and crouched down in front of the door, dropping his backpack on the ground and holding his flashlight in his mouth while he dug through his supplies.

"I'm betting they've got some kind of alarm on this door," Kaito murmured pulling an odd mechanical device from his pack with a small screen and the thinnest of some kind of long antennae thing hanging from it.

"What's that?" Heiji asked in honest curiosity.

"This…" Kaito murmured turning the device on and Heiji watched the screen come to life with a gently swaying view of the ground under them, "is a fiber-optics camera." He looked up into the astonished face of the detective behind him. "You'd be amazed at what perfectly good stuff hospitals and research labs throw away when they update their equipment." He dropped to the ground flat on his stomach, Heiji hopped back to get out of the way of the thief's quick movement, and carefully fed the slim 'antennae' Heiji now knew to be a camera under the door, adjusting knobs to bring the camera into focus. Frowning at the screen, he lay his flashlight on the ground to add light.

"What's wrong?" Heiji asked crouching down next to the thief who was moving the camera from side to side under the door.

"Look at this," Kaito muttered tilting the screen to the side for Heiji to see.

Heiji frowned, looking at the screen and the uneven wall of something solid crossing the camera's view. "What is it?" he asked with a frown, backing up as Kaito pulled out his camera and picked himself up off the ground.

"Cement," Kaito answered, tucking his thin flashlight over an ear, pointing to the door's edge. Heiji obediently turned his own light on the gap between the door and wall. Again, he fed the slim camera into the crack as best as it could fit.

"The door jam's not gonna let ya see anything," Heiji said, watching the thief curiously.

"Just a hunch," Kaito answered back, adjusting his focus again. Heiji watched him press his lips tightly in tense focus, studying the camera. "The door jam is warped," Kaito sighed, pulling the camera back out.

"So what does that mean?" Heiji asked.

"It's made of steel, just like the door," Kaito replied, holding the camera against the key opening of the door lock. "Do you realize how much heat it would take to warp steel. Someone fused this door shut. …Looks like the lock too." He turned off the camera device and shoved it back in his backpack. Heiji followed in confusion as the thief shouldered his pack and walked towards the tall industrial-sized sliding doors. "Check the door on that side," he ordered, pointing to the far end of the doors, too absorbed in his own inspection to spare the detective a glance. "Just don't touch anything."

"Yeah, yeah," Heiji muttered, walking away to check the doors as ordered. "Ya know, you're kinda bossy," he called back running his flashlight along the edges of the doors. "Reminds me of someone else I know," he finished in a low mutter Kaito could plainly hear in the stillness of the windless night. Kaito grinned but stayed silent, bending to his own inspection of the doors.

The welding seam along the bottom of the door was plainly visible once someone actually looked, affixing the door to the forward edge of the track on the ground. Up the sides of the door, insulation expanding foam climbed up the edge of the door all the way to the top. He frowned, guessing the top of the door was also most likely welded to its sliding track.

"This side is all shut," Heiji called quietly, walking back to the thief who was backing up slowly, studying the roofline of the building. "So what now? I checked around the edge on this side and there's not a single window."

"How are you at climbing?" Kaito asked, dropping his gaze from the roof to the detective next to him.

"It's not a tree, is it?" Heiji grumbled feeling his mood plummet. He followed the chuckling thief around the building, which truly did seem to have no windows.

Kaito stopped next to another dead streetlight planted a good meter away from one of the back corners of the warehouse. "Wait here and I'll figure out a way to pull you up," he said giving his arms a few experimental stretches and pulling the loose backpack strap over his other shoulder. With a final lacing of his fingers, reversing them in a knuckle and elbow popping stretch, he gave a quick jump standing between the pole and the building planting a hand on each side and spreading his legs out for his feet to do the same. Heiji backed up watching the thief pull himself higher up the side of the building.

Reaching the top, Kaito crossed over to the roof of corrugated aluminum looking around for a likely place to tie a rope. But the roof was completely bare of any kinds of protrusions save the line of skylights running down the spine of the flat roof. The shining glass glinting the orange-yellow lights of the city drew his attention along with the chance to finally find out what was in the mysterious building. He found himself abandoning his search for a rope hold to creep closer to the windows.

"Hey! Give me a hand!" Heiji called as loudly as he dared to the thief who was halfway to the skylights.

Kaito cringed realizing he had completely forgotten about the detective in his distraction. He turned around only to find Heiji's hand gripping the edge of the roof across from the streetlight just where he had climbed up. "I thought I told you to wait," he hissed back, crouching down at the edge of the roof looking down on the Osakan detective who had followed his spider climb up the gap between the light and the building and was stuck at the top trying to figure out how to cross over to the roof. He reached out a hand which Heiji took gratefully allowing the thief to help haul him onto the roof.

"Did ya already go look?" Heiji asked once he was on solid ground, which Kaito answered with a guilty look.

"Umm… sorry about… leaving you down there," he muttered following after the detective making his way to the nearest skylight.

"Forget it, I would have left you on the ground to go look first too," Heiji tossed over his shoulder. Kaito grinned at his frank words and dropped down next to Heiji who was wiping away the red-brown dust and dirt the polluted rain had left on the windows giving them a clean pane to look through. "This place is completely empty," Heiji muttered, cupping his hands to either side of his face against the glass to block out the city lights. "I don't see anything that looks like a helicopter."

"I kind of figured," Kaito replied with a sigh taking his own look through the window. The warehouse was glaringly bare and practically abandoned. Kaito dropped his pack to the roof and rooted through his supplies for the pair of nightvision binoculars he'd brought. Heiji tensed, startled, at the high-pitched whine when Kaito turned on the binoculars. He shifted to the side to give Kaito more room at the window. Kaito scanned the warehouse in careful study. Aside from a large collection of metal oil drums along the back wall and in front of the sealed sliding doors, the large warehouse was empty. There was absolutely no sign of the helicopter wreckage Hakuba's memo claimed had been moved there. "Not even an oil stain on the ground," Kaito mused aloud. He let his search wander back to the drums. The barrels he could see at the front of the collection were all sporting the caution diamond of hazardous chemicals but even with the zoom of his binoculars and nightvision capabilities it was hidden too well by the shadows for him to read. He frowned adjusting the focus to get a clearer view. Something about the metal drums just felt… off. His focus fell on the darkened concrete at the feet of the first line of barrels. "Does the ground look wet to you under those barrels?" he asked passing the binoculars to Heiji.

"…I… don't know," Heiji muttered, taking his own look. "It might be a shadow."

Kaito sighed widening his focus from the view in the room to the dusty glass pane he was looking through. Experimentally, he rapped his knuckles against the glass, listening to the sound with a practiced ear. The glass was unexpectedly thick for a rented warehouse. It had been his experience that most of the buildings in the warehouse district were built with the cheapest materials available including a much cheaper thinner glass that was conveniently easy to break. His eyes fell on the seam of caulking around the window and he caught his nail on the spongy seam where the caulk met the window and pulled at it while he mulled over the situation. The caulk pulled away from the window a millimeter or so and his vision fell on second line of caulking on the underside of the glass.

"So are we breaking in from here?" Heiji asked, knocking against the glass with the back of his hand. "I'm betting ya probably have enough rope to reach the bottom in that pack of your-…" Kaito reached out in a sudden flash, catching his hand before his knuckles could rap on the glass a third time. "Wha…" He trailed off realizing the thief next to him had gone completely white and the hand grabbing his wrist was shaking.

"Triethylborane," Kaito whispered in a tight voice.

"Huh?" Heiji asked in confusion.

"Those barrels. It's triethylborane. These windows have been double-sealed. They've got this entire warehouse sealed. Triethylborane reacts with oxygen… explosively. This place is a ticking time bomb," Kaito hissed. "We do so much as crack a window and this whole place goes up in a giant fireball the second oxygen reacts with that stuff. This place is probably full of triethylborane gas evaporated in there. That shadow is those barrels leaking."

Heiji stared at the thief, absorbing the tense fright in his eyes and then carefully slid himself back from the window. "Are ya sure?" he asked, cautiously eyeing the glass.

"…Yes," Kaito said firmly, staring at the skylight with a grim serious expression. "Triethylborane or something with similar properties like diborane."

"Wouldn't blowing up anyone who came poking around this building call too much attention," Heiji asked skeptically

"Not really," Kaito mused. "Triethylborane has a lot of industrial uses. They probably have all the paperwork and permits to handle and store anything here. All they have to do is claim one of the barrels leaked and any explosion here would be written off as an accident. Anything odd about the way the exits are sealed would be blown apart by the explosion."

"…Ya think they were waiting for you to break in?" Heiji asked softly, eyeing the sealant around the glass with trepidation.

Kaito shook his head slowly, carefully pushing himself back and away from the window. "I don't think this place is necessarily waiting for me, but this whole building _is_ a trap. Most likely it's waiting for whoever finds that memo in the police department and is stubborn enough to keep investigating." Kaito pushed himself up quickly. "I need to warn Nakamori-keibu about this. Before he or Megure-keibu try looking into this place." He nudged Heiji into standing. "We need to get out of here before we trip something. Who knows how good a job they did on these seams. Lets go."

"Alright," Heiji agreed, cautiously making his way after the thief.

* * *

Hakuba sighed leaning back in his chair at the dining room table for a much needed stretch. A glance into the living room and the huddled form on the couch told him that Conan had fallen asleep in spite of his insistence on staying up to wait for Kuroba and that dunce detective. He turned back to his task of sorting through files while he organized the cases Conan had pointed out for him chronologically. The files he had come across in the third sub-basement he set aside to be boxed separately and studied later.

As with the case files of the Touto Tower Disaster, each of the cases Conan had given him were equally censored rendering each report almost useless. One couldn't even identify what detective had handled which case. Hakuba was thankful for his impeccable memory and the fact that he had read most of the reports back when he had helped file them. He had taken the time to fill in the missing data on the first case he looked through, penciling in the information in the space between the black lines of censoring, but taking in the sheer amount of files and reports left had him nixing the idea in favor of organizing the paperwork first. He was confident in his ability to remember the original reports and so decided it was a task he could leave for later. For the moment, he spent his time organizing and avoided any reading beyond checking dates.

/

A few hours later, Hakuba blew on the cup he had borrowed from Kuroba's kitchen and the tea he had salvaged from a box of tea bags in the back of the kitchen pantry and paused in the living room, looking down on the sleeping child using the couch's armrest for a pillow, his hand still gripping his cell phone. He carefully pulled the phone out of Conan's hands without waking him and studied the screen and text he had been in the middle of writing to the Osakan detective of the west when he had fallen asleep. With a self-amused sigh, he set the phone down on the coffee table and looked around the room. The blanket he had brought down from the linen closet the day before was still out and dumped on the floor at the far end of the couch. He pulled up the blanket and spread it over the sleeping child as best he could one handed. Satisfied Conan was adequately covered and no longer having an excuse to loiter, Hakuba wandered back to the dining room to start the task he had been avoiding… reading and confirming his suspicions.

He pulled the first file, a homicide case involving a bombing at the Beika Hotel during a Mantendo business conference dated a year and a half ago and another bombing that had happened the same day at the Daikoku building which Conan had written down as linked. He gave each page of the report a firm inspection not looking so much for the censoring, but rather for any changes that had been made after he had logged them in. And sure enough, just as in the tower case, memos that escaped the censoring mysteriously unscathed began to pop up. Memos with strange orders to transfer the investigation of the chemical analysis of the materials used in and recovered from the bombings to a laboratory the department had never used before, a laboratory that burned down itself only a few months later along with all the samples the department had making tracing any of the chemicals used in the bombs impossible to track. And in another interdepartmental memo, he found that the body of the victim killed in the Beika Hotel bathroom while never being identified and classified as a John Doe, had actually gone missing at some point, blamed as a paperwork mix-up in the memo. However, discrepancies were found in the corpse's height and the position of the burned body's limbs after it turned back up again and was compared to an earlier report from the field medical examiner, so noted in the margins of the coroner's report. A later memo dismissed the coroner's reported questions assigning the differences to human error. Hakuba turned back to the medical report from the coroner. The doctor who had performed the final examination and investigation, the one who had pointed out the discrepancies, was one Takahiro Masami who had died in a car accident over a year ago if Hakuba remembered correctly. Looking back with what he knew now, it seemed unlikely the accident was what it seemed. He frowned, tracing a finger over the flat image of the seal of the police superintendent's office on a document calling for the case to be sealed and paperwork censored from public viewing. The seal was the official stamp of the superintendent's office, the signature was that of Matsumoto, Kiyonaga-keishi… but the wording in the document was definitely that of his father's. He stared at the small stack of documents he'd identified as having been added to the case file at some point after he had logged the original reports and with a long sigh, paperclipped them and tucked them in the back of the file. He reached for the next file, the robbery case at the Four Diamonds Bank, Beika branch, and a linked triple homicide.

* * *

Nakamori Ginzou slammed his back door shut with a foot, and sat himself down in a chair on his back porch setting his mug of evening coffee on the outdoor table to pull a cigarette from his suit jacket's pocket. He sent a paranoid glance above to Aoko's dark window before lighting it in no mood for another lecture on his health from his well-meaning daughter.

He glanced next door over his fence to the many-lit windows in the Kuroba home. It had to have been at least two weeks since he'd come home to the Kuroba boy and his daughter doing their homework and while he often made it his aim to rib the boy mercilessly he actually felt much better knowing the kid was around in his absence. Their neighborhood was as safe as could be expected in the town of Ekoda-cho, it certainly wasn't the crime-ridden madhouse Beika-cho was, but as a father forced to leave his daughter home alone he felt a great deal more secure knowing the kid was around. He had even felt obligated to ask Aoko that morning if the two were fighting to which she had answered something about having to turn in Kaito's homework for him because he was staying home babysitting or some sort of nonsense. He toyed a bit with the idea of going over to see if the kid was doing okay. Who knew what the kid was up to spending so much time alone.

He was debating what kind of excuse he could give for showing up so late on the kid's doorstep aside from the fatherly interrogation he was internalizing for his being up so late, or early as his watch would have it, on a school night when he felt the skin on his arms begin to crawl, his usual warning when he felt someone watching him. His hand slipped under his jacket, unfastening the catch on the shoulder holster he hadn't bothered to take off when he got home as he stood up slowly searching the bushes of his yard with a policeman's eye.

"I don't think you need that keibu-san…"

Nakamori jumped at the soft words behind him breaking the still of the quiet night. On reflex he whirled toward the sound, his cigarette falling to the ground, side arm pointed squarely at the white clad thief looking most relaxed sitting on his roof and leaning against the eave of his daughter's bedroom.

"Damn bastard!" Nakamori swore shoving the semi back in its holster in angry exasperation. "I could'a shot you!" he yelled up at the thief who didn't even seem to be paying all that much attention to the irate inspector, looking out over the neighborhood by the angle of his hat and monocle.

"You'll wake your daughter with that… colorful… voice of yours," Kaito replied. He couldn't help the manic grin spreading over his face at Nakamori's red-faced spluttering.

"You get away from her window pervert!" Nakamori shouted, still too incensed to lower his voice with the RZ-04 fiasco suddenly very fresh on his mind.

Kaito had the temerity to grin wickedly down on the inspector quite sure he knew what the man was remembering. "Don't worry, keibu-san. I got here after she bathed."

"You damn son-of-a-bitch!'' Nakamori growled up at him, reaching in his jacket for his gun again. He jumped back in surprise when the thief dropped silently to his deck, falling the two-stories plus attic space with the grace of a cat and standing to face him with only the space of the small table between them. He cursed his neighbor's bright backyard porch light behind the thief obscuring his face in the deep shadows bright lights created. Ignoring the inspector's reach for his gun and surprised jump, the thief pulled out Aoko's chair opposite him and sat down as though he commonly joined the inspector in his favorite late night relaxation spot. "I take it you wanna 'chat'," Nakamori grumbled dropping his grip on the sidearm and staring at the thief's move, refusing to let his shock that the thief was trusting to be so close to him when he could easily make a grab for his lapels across the table show.

"My apologies for calling on you so late at night after you've spent a long hard day protecting our fine city, keibu-san," Kaito said with a smirking grin.

"Bullshit! You're not sorry for a damn thing!" Nakamori grumbled once he was fully over his shock. He stamped out the flickering cigarette at his feet and sat back down. "How the hell did we get to this point?" he muttered, taking a long drink of coffee before setting the mug down and glaring at his nemesis of almost ten years sitting comfortably at his table.

"We've both been caught up in something much bigger than either of us," Kaito replied quietly, studying the man who was sitting, the closest thing to patiently he was likely capable of in Kid's presence, silently accepting his not so subtle request to talk. He tipped his hat a little closer over his eyes… just in case.

"You already know I can't see anything," Nakamori muttered with a roll of his eyes, calling the thief on the nervous tic, "Or are you already regretting coming down to my level?"

"Why don't we get down to business and you can analyze me all you want later," Kaito replied with a 'touché' grin.

Nakamori grinned like a shark at the thief's response. "What's on your mind?" the inspector replied almost good-naturedly, leaning back in his chair with his coffee.

"Are you still in the clear about the Blackline building?" Kaito asked.

"Not so sure, no one's asking questions at least although upper management has decided to give me a couple of new assistants. And just when I had finally trained the last one," he muttered, still peeved at the unexpected replacement.

"Be careful! They may be working for our friends," Kaito answered, leaning forward at the unexpected complication, his mind racing with worry.

"Ya think_?_!" Nakamori growled.

Kaito gave in inner sigh of relief that the man was thinking along the same lines. "I had hoped you had come out of all that unscathed. I'm sorry I've drawn you into this," he said with honest sincerity.

"Don't be. Better the enemy you can see than one you can't," Nakamori replied, waving off the thief's worry. "Guess you _can_ apologize for something after all."

Kaito grinned apologetically at the inspector's good humor considering. "I'll check them out," he said firmly.

"Want their names?"

"I'll find them," Kaito replied with a genuine smile at the inspector's offer. "The less they can trace back to you the better."

"For the moment, Megure and I are looking into the guys we picked for that heist. Don't worry! Contrary to your opinion we old men _do_ know how to be subtle," he said quickly when the thief leaned forward to say something. "Don't forget who the detective here is." He eyed the thief sharply until he sat back again and took another sip of coffee. "Are you gonna tell me anytime soon why you decided to drop by?"

"A problem's come up," Kaito said with a nod, digging into his jacket.

Nakamori kept a sharp eye on him in case the thief had any surprises down his inner pockets and was actually secretly surprised when he pulled out a simple folded piece of paper. He reached across the table to accept the page and unfolded it, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline as he realized what he was holding. "How did you get hold of this_?_!" he exclaimed, staring at the inter-departmental memo from the forbidden case. The thief stared back at him calmly but stayed completely tightlipped. Nakamori read through the memo and grumbled over the company name listed above the address. "I've never heard of this lab. Have you shown this to Megure?"

"This memo was found in Archives," Kaito began softly, "It was added to the case file recently, this week in fact."

"Someone needs to check this place out. Megure will be dancing for joy if we can track down that missing wreckage," Nakamori mumbled, reading through the memo a second time.

"I've come to warn you exactly against that," Kaito replied, his tense worry driving his voice conspiratorially softer. Nakamori found himself leaning in to listen. "I've just come from that warehouse."

"Find anything?" Nakamori asked hopefully.

"In a way," Kaito answered, giving the inspector's backyard a paranoid once-over, making sure to keep his face shadowed. "Whoever these people are, it seems they _know_ someone is looking into the tower disaster. There is no helicopter at that address. That memo is bait and that building is a trap waiting for whoever finds it and tries to investigate. It's hermetically sealed and I have reason to believe they've filled the building with a highly explosive gas."

Nakamori stared at the thief as best he could with the inconvenient shadows that seemed to love the bastard, trying to gauge his seriousness. "No shit…" he finally said, taking another sip of coffee.

"Keibu-san, I really must insist you take this information seriously!" Kaito argued in a tight voice, leaving his seat to lean over the table.

"I'm not doubting you," the inspector grumbled, putting down his mug and waving the thief back. "I mean… what do you want _me_ to do about it? If I do anything, they'll know _I_ know. Look, I'll warn Megure about the place."

"There's still the chance some innocent dock worker or common thief will do something stupid and blow the warehouse district sky high!" Kaito argued in a sharp hiss. "That place can't stay like that!"

"Well I can't risk any men coming to their attention if I do anything," Nakamori replied. "Can't _you_ do something about it?"

"You may think my pockets are endlessly deep to come up with my equipment…" Kaito hissed.

"Is that what you call it?" Nakamori mused sarcastically. "Those damn torture devices of yours."

"…but I don't have anything to handle something on this scale," Kaito finished with a sharp glare. "That building is too unstable for me to jerry-rig something." He crossed his arms in a huff at the inspector's attitude. "I swear, you and Kudo would get along great," he grumbled.

"So Megure's little stooge _is_ working with you," Nakamori said, pouncing on his comment. "How did _that_ happen_?_!"

Kaito rolled his eyes and refused to comment further on the subject. "Telling Megure may not be enough. That's just a copy of the memo. The real thing is still in Archives just waiting for some cop or civil servant who's noticed _their_ presence to find! And I already know that there are other detectives looking into the tower case!" Kaito hissed, leaning forward.

Nakamori tensed. "What_?_! Who_!_?" he demanded leaning forward himself.

"They're Division One," he answered, running through the conversation Heiji and Kudo had the day before. "I think their names were Takagi-keiji and Sato-keiji and two others. I didn't recognize their names."

"Does Megure know about this?" Nakamori asked in a hushed voice.

"I don't think so," Kaito said carefully. "From what I heard, I think they're working this in secret."

"Are they trustworthy?" Nakamori asked, pulling his sakura-emblemed notebook from his front pocket and pen to write the names down.

"I'd prefer it if you don't record the names," Kaito said quickly before he could write anything. "Just in case. And Kudo seemed okay with it."

"Oh… right," Nakamori mumbled closing his notebook. "Sorry. Force of habit." He tucked the notebook away under the thief's nod and ran a tired hand through his short hair. "Megure would hitch a fit if he knew," he mumbled with an amused grin.

"I don't know what they have in play so it would be safest if you didn't do anything to jeopardize them," Kaito said with a sigh as the man's rivalry with the homicide inspector made itself known.

"Right, right. I won't tell Megure," Nakamori replied, waving off his concern. "Anything else?"

"…yes," Kaito said after a pause, looking at the inspector in trepidation. "I'd like you and Megure to stop following this." He cringed inwardly at the argument he knew was coming.

"No."

"Keibu-san, this case is too dangerous. These people are cold-blooded murderers and too large for you to handle. I never should have involved you in this in the first place," Kaito argued evenly.

"Kid, I already know these people exist and exist among us. I cannot and will not forget about what I've learned and go about my merry way," he told the thief firmly.

"You have a family!" Kaito argued. "These people will not hesitate to eliminate anyone who's a threat!"

"And you know so much about them_?_!" Nakamori shot back. "You're suddenly the expert on these bastards_?_!"

"No, I'm not! But Ku-… I've spoken with people who are and…"

"And what? You and this detective kid are gonna fight these guys alone_?_!" the inspector almost yelled back, his famous temper beginning to make itself known. "I'm supposed to sit back at my desk solving jewelry store robberies and white collar scams while you and this kid throw yourself in the middle of these 'cold-blooded murderers'_?_! If I remember right, he's still just a high school brat!"

"Keibu-sa…"

"And don't you 'Keibu-san' me! If I remember right, solving crime happens to be **my** _**job**_! _Committing_ it is _yours_!"

Kaito would have felt the need to roll his eyes at the parental scolding tone in the inspector's voice if he wasn't so angry at the man's refusal to listen to reason. He slammed his closed fists into the table's surface and leaned over the table to yell at the man. "Would you rather I give your daughter a lift on my hang glider to your funeral_?_! You **cannot** keep following this case, keibu-san! **I don't want to be the one who takes her father **_**away**_** from her!**" he yelled feeling his voice crack as whatever last inch of his composure he still had was blown to bloody hell. "**PLEASE!**"

Nakamori froze, the quickest glint of… something… flashing across his eyes and gone just as fast as he stared at the white circle of the top of Kid's top hat as the thief's head hung low, his focus somewhere on the mosaic tile of the table. "…fine." Kaito tensed, still not daring to lift his head as he tried to drag his shuddering breathes under control. "Fine. I'll back off for a while," he muttered pulling the cigarette carton from his pocket and giving it a couple of slaps on his palm to draw one out. "So quit your blubbering. What the hell's wrong with this world when a thief tries to save a cop." He stared out over his manicured backyard while he lit his cigarette, purposely ignoring the thief across the table from him and stared out into the night sky with the orange tones the city lights cast on the clouds taking a slow drag. "This doesn't mean I'm gonna stop keeping my eyes open and conferring with Megure," he grumbled, letting out a long breath of smoke.

"…fine," Kaito sighed, slumping back down his chair, pulling the brim of his hat low and crossing his arms over his chest to disguise the shaking of his hands. "Just… just stay off their radar… that's all I ask."

"You gonna be okay? I still don't like that you'll be in this without…" Nakamori trailed off leaving his inclusion unsaid, suddenly feeling the awkwardness of completing the thought.

Kaito sighed and gave a wry grateful grin, unclenching the fists he'd been hiding that had finally stopped shaking. "It's better this way," he said softly, the brim of his hat tipping oddly as Nakamori realized he was looking back towards Aoko's room again. "I have so much less to lose."

Nakamori stared at the very deep stillness in the thief half a meter across the table from him though it may as well have been miles from the quiet tone in the thief's voice… and gave an awkward huff, drawing the phantom thief's attention out his self-introspection. "Don't think this ordering around is a one-way street. If things get heavy you **contact** me, idiot thief," Nakamori growled softly. "I don't care if these people _are_ all over my station. There are still contacts I have and things I can do while keeping under their radar. You aren't the only one who can get shit done around here."

"Right," Kaito replied weakly, realizing the inspector was intentionally avoiding looking at him. He stared at the man a few moments longer and quietly pushed himself up out of the chair and turned to look up at the dark window above them, Aoko's corner bedroom. "She sleeps through anything, huh?" he said with the ghost of a wry smile.

"She's had me and my temper for a father for a long time," Nakamori replied over another drag. "Guess she got used to it."

Kaito let a small sound escape that was almost a laugh. "I guess she has."

Nakamori paused hearing the thief place something on the table. He turned around and stared at the thin flat silver rectangle on the table between them and looked up at the thief who looked like he was capping a marker from what he could tell in the shadows. He raised a questioning eyebrow at the thief. "Should I ask?"

"It's a burn phone," Kaito muttered, tucking the sharpie in a pocket. "I wrote the number for the phone on the back. If these people are already watching you, you can bet they'll have you bugged soon, including your cell. Try not to use them for any of this business and warn Megure too. They won't be able to trace that, just don't let anyone you can't trust know you have it."

"Uh… Thanks… Kid," he said picking up the phone with an inner curse realizing he hadn't even considered the numerous ways a cyber-attack could have found him or Megure out. "Can't believe I said that. Hell, I can't believe I actually miss the days when you broke laws and I tried to arrest you. Feels like it was ages ago but it was only el-…"

"Eleven days ago," Kaito finished with a wry grin. "Given the choice, I think I'd rather have you and the task force chase me over roof tops too."

"Don't get sentimental on me freak, it's just too weird," Nakamori replied with a sardonic grin of his own, picking up the proffered phone. He turned it over and stared at the two numbers written there. "Is this what I think it is?" he asked staring at the thief leaning against the back of his chair with his back mostly to him. The thief was facing his neighbor's porch light head-on but the glare from his monocle fouled any attempt of his to see his face.

"Just in case," the thief said quietly. "If you think they're closing on you…" He looked up at the dark windows above them. "If they decide you're a problem… they'll probably go after her first… to get to you."

The inspector stared at the thief in a mollified kind of shock. "What makes you think I won't trace this and finally nail your ass," Nakamori grumbled, tucking the cell in his jacket's breast pocket.

Kaito smiled grimly to himself and pushed off his lean on the chair. "Goodnight, keibu-san," he said softly, "Stay safe."

Nakamori had just enough time to cross his sleeved arm over his nose and mouth when he was engulfed in a cloud of pink. He coughed at the cloying candy scent waving his free arm to encourage the smoke to dissipate. "When are you going to change to a fall scent?" he called once the pink smoke had fallen enough for him to drop his arm, quite sure Kid was still somewhere close enough to hear him. "I liked that spiced pumpkin one you used last year!" He sighed realizing his suit was now covered in the usual pink powdery residue the thief's smoke bombs left and he was now standing in a circle of pink covering the tile of his deck. With a low curse, he threw his cigarette to the ground and stamped it out, pink dust raining down from his shoulders to join the mess, and stalked off to hunt down the end of his garden hose hiding somewhere in the grass. "It's like picking up after a two-year-old," he grumbled.

* * *

It was well past midnight when Hakuba pushed away from the table to stretch his stiff legs. A glance told him Conan was still fast asleep and he weighed whether he should try waking the boy or just carry him up to Kuroba's room and an actual bed. The quick realization that Kuroba's room was still locked had him walking away from the living room, leaving the small detective sound asleep on the couch. He shut off the lights in the living room on his way out of the room leaving only the bluish lights the quiet television was casting on the walls.

He stood at the doorway to the dining room and stared at the large pile of cases he had already combed through. Each with its own collection of strange memos; memos he was sure beyond a shadow of a doubt had come from his father's office no matter who's name was actually printed there. Someone had replaced key files from the original sets he had logged, just as he'd noticed with the tower case, and each replaced file was conveniently free of any censoring making it glaringly easy to trace names unlike any of the other files in the organization tainted cases. And he still had many more cases to go through. He felt ill facing the sheer amount of cases this invisible evil had been involved with right under his nose, right under everyone's nose with only a missing detective turned child and the phantom thief he had tried so hard to arrest doing anything to stop them. He leaned back against the foyer wall opposite the dining room entrance. "And all this time I was trying to arrest one of the few people who was fighting these… these…"

He walked away from the dining room and took to pacing the lit entryway, a hand covering his mouth while the suspicions he'd had when he decided to review the old cases spun in his mind. He had been hoping to expunge those worries by looking over the cases Conan had given him… but everything he had read so far had only solidified his working theory. He stopped his pacing feeling the eyes of the framed painting gracing the wall on him. He stopped and stared at the painting of the famed magician staring back at him with a gentle smile… a fatherly kind of smile, the kind of smile he'd never known. His hand ran down the picture while he studied the portrait. "You know… I bet if I had never known about all this Phantom Thief business and you had never known about this organization… I would have really liked you." He let his fingers trace the whorls and curves in the frame's design. "I just need a break from thinking about… things," he said softly to the smiling man in the picture. "Is that all right?" He looked into the face of the smiling man with eyes that seemed to twinkle back at him… and pressed the upper corner of the portrait. The portrait swung open and he stepped inside and down the stairs into the workroom of Kaitou Kid.

His last trip into the workroom had been brief and he hadn't given much thought into exploring. Now he wandered around the room turning on the overhead lights and each desk lamp and work light he passed until the room was bright with light. Knowing Kuroba's love for things that go 'boom,' he steered clear of touching anything on the worktables. The car under a protective sheet made him pause. Aside from the portrait entrance, he couldn't see any other exits. He debated pulling back the heavy canvas for a closer look but stopped staring at the thick layer of dust on the coverlet. The amount of dust there must have taken years to accumulate so it seemed Kuroba had made no move to uncover the car. He moved on to a shelf with what looked like spare parts for his hang glider.

Eventually he worked his way back to the secret doorway and the broken tape player. He carefully lifted the tape and studied the tangled mess of magnetic tape. He only paused a moment before tucking the tape player under an arm and grabbing a slew of screwdrivers from Kuroba's worktable and rushing up the stairs. In the dining room, he shoved the folders back to make room while he set to work disassembling the tape recorder.

He was still working a good forty minutes later when a sudden dip in the room's temperature alerted him to the front door opening. He spared a quick look to confirm that the Kansai detective was in the foyer, taking off his jacket and turned back to the cracked open tape recorder. "You two are back soon. I take it you didn't find any wreckage," he muttered while he absorbed himself in his tinkering.

"It's just me and yeah," Heiji muttered following Hakuba's voice into the dining room and slumping down into a seat diagonal from him. He dumped his jacket on the floor and pulled back his shirt by the front of his collar for more air. After the chilly air of the night, the home's interior felt overly warm.

"You left him _alone?_! Wasn't the whole reason we sent you was so that wouldn't happen_?_!" Hakuba bit at him angrily, dropping his screwdriver to stand, leaning his hands on the table, to glare at Heiji. "Useless idiot! He's in _no_ condition to be on his **own** tonight!" Heiji glared back evenly at Hakuba's insult. "**Where is he?**"

"He's just next door," Heiji answered evenly, bristling but too tired to rise to Hakuba's baiting. "Said he needed to talk to Nakamori-han."

"In his thief persona, I take it," Hakuba concluded, accepting Heiji's answer and sitting back down in relief, dropping his attention back to the tape player without apology. Heiji nodded, still glaring holes in the top of Hakuba's head. "Does this mean you found something?" he asked, giving the Osakan an expectant look, demanding an answer.

"That warehouse ya sent us to is sealed from the inside and filled with an explosive gas," Heiji muttered, dropping his baseball cap on the table and running a hand through his hair. "Kuroba said the place was rigged to blow the second someone tries to get in." Hakuba looked up at him sharply from his work, wide-eyed in alarm. "Don't worry, we didn't trip anything," Heiji sighed, catching Hakuba's expression. "Kuroba thinks they planted that memo as a trap. He went ta warn Nakamori-han before any cops find that memo and try investigating."

Hakuba nodded in quiet understanding and dropped his attention back to his project. "Good Lord, how much of this city is already under these bastards' thumb?" he grumbled yanking out a set of plastic gears in frustration earning himself a few more millimeters closer to the drums holding the magnetic tape hostage. He ran a hand over the tabletop brushing parts he'd already removed over the edge into a file box on the floor.

"Are ya done working on these?" Heiji asked, poking at a stack of folders in front of him.

"I'm taking a break," Hakuba retorted, unscrewing a set of copper u-bracket ended wires. Heiji sighed and slumped over the table, resting his head in his crossed arms. "…I'm sorry I sent you someplace so dangerous. …I didn't know," Hakuba continued after a pause.

"If ya hadn't, it would have been someone else," Heiji replied sagely. "Someone who didn't know what we do."

"You've known… about these guys a long time," Hakuba's voice said calmly, even as his eyes begged the question of the Osakan detective.

Heiji looked up at the blonde from his slump. "Yeah. Couldn't leave Kudo to fight these guys on his own," he answered around a wry grin. "Where is he anyway?" he asked lifting his head off his arms, prepared to go in search of the injured child if need be.

"He's asleep in the living room," Hakuba said, noting Heiji's shoulders lose their tension as he relaxed once he knew the shrunken detective's whereabouts. "You never thought about asking for help with all this?" he asked, bending back over the tape recorder. He couldn't quite keep a cross edge from invading his voice. "Why did you, and he, and that idiot thief, think you could handle this all by yourself?" He felt his voice rising beyond his control and for a moment the worry that he might wake the child in the next room crossed his mind but was quickly forgotten. "_He_ thought he could handle things by himself too and we all know how _that_ turned out!" he ground out pointing to the portrait behind him in the entryway hall.

"What are _you_ so pissed about?" Heiji muttered glaring back at the angry blonde.

Hakuba broke off his glare to stare at the piles of folders and police reports. "Nothing. Forget it," he murmured, dropping his focus back to the player, determined to forget about the reports for a little longer. Heiji eyed him in confusion still slightly peeved before dropping his head back into his arms.

They both froze at a soft sound, barely audible and slightly high pitched.

"What was that?" Hakuba asked cautiously, his hands stilling over the tape recorder and looking up at the Osakan who was equally frozen.

"A cat?" Heiji suggested quietly, looking over his shoulder to the curtained windows behind him. "Does Kuroba have any cats or neighbors with small dogs?" he asked carefully.

"The Kuroba's only keeps doves and the Nakamori's don't have any pets," Hakuba answered softly, his shoulders tense as he focused his hearing to catch the sound again. "The Ishikawa's next door have a shitzu but he's an indoor dog and the Satsuki's behind him don't have any pets. I'm not sure about any stray animals that frequent the neighborhood; I haven't observed any. My guess is Kuroba does something to keep them away for his doves."

Heiji raised an eyebrow at him. "I thought you were anal but damn," he murmured.

Hakuba glared at him and was ready to say something biting back when they heard the same soft sound again. The two detectives stared at each other tensely. Hakuba quietly lifted the box on the floor and brushed the tape recorder and screwdrivers into it, covering the box with its lid and tucking it under the table. He carefully left his seat shielding himself behind a wall, peeking into the entryway to see if Kuroba had come in without their noticing. Heiji followed him out of his seat and crouched down next to him. "I don't think it's Kuroba," Hakuba whispered back to him.

They both heard the sound again, clearer now that they were facing the hall and definitely coming from the living room… the unmistakable sound of a whimper. Exchanging expressions of confusion and worry, they both crept towards the living room as quietly as they could. Hakuba frowned when he noticed Conan had kicked the blanket completely off yet was hugging his arms around himself and curled in as tight a ball he could get himself in around his bandages.

"…an… Ran plea-…"

Conan shivered in his sleep and attempted to curl tighter, his head dropping off his makeshift pillow of the armrest and pulling himself in a quarter-circle pressing his back against the armrest his head had just left and his feet into the back cushions, his head inches from the edge of the couch. One of his hands dug into the couch seat, trying to grab on tightly in his sleep.

"…ease… no… run… Ran…RAN! RAN! **RAN!**"

Heiji shoved Hakuba out of his way, rushing past him and dropping to the floor in front of the sleeping screaming boy. "Kudo! Kudo, wake up!" he shouted, trying to be heard over the boy's ever increasing volume. He grabbed hold of Conan's shoulder and started shaking him, to which the boy fought back with sharp nails and kicking legs.

"He's going to hurt himself!" Hakuba yelled, reaching over the back of the couch to pin Conan's legs still. "He's not well enough to move like this!"

Their attempts to wake and hold Conan still only made him fight harder against them, all the while screaming for Ran more desperately. Heiji paled hearing Conan's voice crack from abuse and the realization that he had tears streaming from the corners of his eyes. "Kudo, wake up aho!"

Hakuba took the first moment Conan lay still long enough in his flailing to reach down and slap the child sharply across his cheek, his hand coming away wet with tears. Conan's eyes flew open and his entire body froze under their duel attempts to pin him, his panicked eyes searching wildly for his dream's abusers, people who weren't there.

"Kudo! Kudo, are ya okay_?_!" Heiji cried, trying to draw Conan's attention on him. "Kudo!"

Conan focused on the distraught face over him, Hakuba watching him just as closely with worry from the top of the couch above him. Sparing only the time to gasp a deep breath, Conan shoved off Heiji's grip, holding down his arms, and kicked off Hakuba's hold on his ankles, taking a rolling tumble off the couch and narrowly missing falling onto Heiji's knees. With barely a grimacing gasp for his abused muscles, he scrambled off the floor and broke into a run for the stairs, ignoring the pain of his bruised toes. Exchanging looks of alarm, Heiji and Hakuba took off after him.

They caught up with the small child almost hanging from the doorknob to Kaito's room in his attempt to force the locked door open. "It won't open!" Conan cried out in desperation when he noticed the two detectives standing frozen in the hall, ignoring their expressions of worry.

"It's still locked," Hakuba reminded him gently. Conan growled at the two who were just _standing there_ doing nothing and kicked the uncooperative door in frustration. He shoved past their legs viciously and dashed down the hall for the stairs. Still exchanging looks of worry, they followed after only to meet Conan on his way back up the stairs, his power enhancing shoes clutched in his hand running past them again to the thief's room.

"Kudo… what are y-… What's…" Heiji trailed off realizing the boy wasn't hearing him.

"What's going on?" a new voice asked from the landing at the top of the stairs. Heiji and Hakuba looked up to see the white-clad thief with a heavy black backpack over a shoulder staring at them in confusion.

The two detectives looked at each other, neither quite sure how to explain and opened their mouths to start their narrative of the small boy's strange and worrying behavior. Conan beat them to it as he finally noticed the new addition in the hallway. "It won't open!" he cried desperately. "I have to hear!" he begged. "Please!"

Kaito took one look at his tear-filled wild-eyed panic and shoved his way past the two detectives in instant understanding. He dumped his backpack to the floor with a shrug of his shoulder and pulled out a straight thin pick from his lock-picking set. He wasted no time shoving the spike in the small hole, the safety release, on the outer doorknob. Conan barely waited long enough for him to open the door before surging past Kaito, the thief close on his heels snatching up the large head phones with one hand and turning on the radio with the other. He sank to the floor holding the earpiece of one side of the headphones to his ear while he adjusted the radio band. Next to him, Conan clutched at his sleeve anxiously until the thief finished and set the headphones over his ears. His hands left the silk sleeve he had scrunched into a wrinkled mess to hold the earpieces tight against his head. Finally able to hear the loud snores coming from Kogoro's room, he stretched his hearing to find Ran's softer breathing. "More!" he demanded ingraciously from the thief watching him tensely, staring unfocused on the floor somewhere near the desk. Kaito obediently turned a knob, raising the volume slowly, his eyes on the small boy awaiting further orders. "More!" Kaito continued turning up the volume. "There!" Conan commanded finally in a strangled gasp, sinking to the floor holding the headphones tight. Whatever strength had been carrying him left in a sudden flash and he curled up on the floor on his side with a relieved gasping sigh.

Kaito let out a breath of his own feeling the tight anxiety in his chest leave just as suddenly and almost cracking a grin of relief able to hear Mouri Kogoro's loud raucous snores coming from the headphones himself. He gave Conan a gentle pat on the shoulder and pulled his comforter from his futon to cover the boy noticing the chill from the outdoors in his room from the window he hadn't closed quite right himself. "Must've been a bad one, huh Kudo," he said in a soft voice to the child he knew wasn't listening to him, wasn't listening to any of them lost in his own world. He pulled off his top hat and monocle, reaching up to set them on his desk, before turning to face the two confused anxious detectives in his doorway.

Hakuba recovered his composure first pushing past the Kansai detective to stalk up on the thief. "What the _hell_ was that_?_!" he demanded, glaring at the thief to start explaining. Heiji pushed his way past Hakuba's solid stance in the doorway and made his way around the two to Conan.

Kaito reached out and grabbed Heiji's wrist, stopping the worried detective from reaching Conan's huddled form. "Outside. Both of you," he ordered in no uncertain terms.

"But…" Heiji gave a worried look to his friend who wasn't acknowledging any of them.

"Come on," Kaito muttered, hauling the detective to his feet behind him and herding them all out the door into the hallway. He gave one last look to Conan, ignoring them all and pressing the headphones to his ears for dear life, and shut the door quietly. Turning to face the two detectives, he reshouldered his backpack and took off down the hall, trusting the two detectives to follow him.

"Are you going to explain what just happened or not?" Hakuba demanded following the thief downstairs to his father's portrait. Heiji followed behind them more hesitantly and kept casting worried looks back up the stairs.

Kaito pressed the upper corner of the portrait and continued into the workroom until he could drop his backpack on the table. He finally turned around to face the two detectives, Hakuba glaring at him expectantly and Heiji staring around the secret room in wide-eyed curiosity and amazement, pulling off his gloves and tossing them on the table next to his backpack. "First off, I'd like to say what just happened doesn't concern you and is absolutely none of your business. That said, I realize neither of you are going to respect that because that's the way you nosy detectives are," he muttered kicking off his white dress shoes and arranging them neatly under the worktable with his toes.

Hakuba and Heiji both frowned at the light rebuke, Hakuba glaring at the thief's back while he pulled a black shirt and pants from his backpack. They waited while Kaito changed his shirt until Hakuba's impatience got the best of him. "Well? Aren't you going to tell us what happened?" he pressed, glaring at the thief while he patiently arranged his blue dress shirt and white jacket on the hanger to his liking.

Kaito sighed and gave them both a tired look, hanging up his jacket with a few smoothing sweeps of his hand to the cape. "You both already know he was involved in the Touto Tower Disaster," he began watching them carefully.

"Yeah," Heiji answered glumly. "Saw it all first hand," he admitted. The other two looked at him in surprise. "Sato-keiji and Takagi-keiji recovered the video surveillance from the tower," he explained quietly, blinking hard to rid himself of the memory of Conan's suicidal plunge.

"Are they …'safe'?" Hakuba asked carefully. Heiji nodded, his gaze catching the silently probing eyes of the thief standing behind the blonde.

"You saw something… difficult," Kaito said softly after his all too serious study of Conan's long-time friend and co-conspirator. Hakuba turned quickly to see his somber expression after seeing the surprise in the Osakan's face.

"…yeah," Heiji finally said quietly.

"Then maybe you can understand. These last couple of weeks have been… hard for him," Kaito replied with a quiet sigh. "I wasn't able to help him when he and Ran-san were in trouble at the tower, I know they were both hurt during the attack."

"You have no idea," Heiji muttered under his breath.

Kaito studied the detective's grim expression with wise eyes while he paused in his narrative. "I was able to follow one of the guys from the helicopter to their hideout, Kudo called him 'Vodka,'" he explained, "But I was still worried about them so I decided to keep an eye him. I started spying on the Mouri's place at night. That's how I found out. He's been having nightmares every single night since the attack on the tower."

"Nightmares_?_! That was hardly a simple nightmare," Hakuba argued.

Kaito gave a wry grin at Hakuba's worry. "I say nightmare but they're more like night terrors really. I've had a few myself back… back _then_," he said giving them both a meaningful look. Hakuba frowned and nodded his understanding, Heiji more hesitantly so. "He… has trouble shaking them," he continued, "and he only really lets go of the nightmare once he can see that… _she's_ safe. I can tell you Mouri-san and his daughter have had many conversations about it when he's not home. They don't seem to know what to do about it. I don't know either. Just time, I guess." He gave a last sigh and tucked the pair of black pants under his arm, disappearing behind a room divider in the corner to finish changing. "I've got the Mouri's place under surveillance right now. Being able to hear helps since he's not there to check himself."

"Is that what the headphones are for?" Heiji asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Kaito answered, joining them again and hanging the white slacks next to his jacket. "It looks like he only has nightmares at night so he'll probably go to sleep with those on." Kid outfit squared away, he led the two detectives back out of the workroom and headed for the kitchen much in need of a strong cup of coffee. "Just… don't come down on him about any of this until morning, okay you two?" he asked with a heavy sigh, pulling down a coffee cup from a cupboard.

Heiji stepped up next to him and grabbed a cup for himself. "Sure thing," he agreed, his expression anything but happy about Kudo's current situation. Kaito spared an expectant glance to Hakuba who silently nodded his agreement.

He reached over Heiji's shoulder to claim a cup for himself. "I think I'll need a caffeine boost too," he explained at Kaito's raised eyebrow.

"How are those reports going," Kaito asked, glad to be away from depressing topics.

"Ask me tomorrow when I finish," Hakuba muttered with a tired sigh of his own for the tall stack of still uninvestigated files.

/

Heiji trudged up the stairs leaving Kaito to tease the blonde about joining the ranks of the coffee addicted and crept into Kaito's room, closing the door behind himself as quietly as he could and set his coffee mug on the desk softly. Conan was sitting with his back against the leg of Kaito's bed, the comforter Kaito had draped over him wrapped around his shoulders as the heavy headphones bowed his head down, chin resting on his chest, fast asleep. He sighed with a quiet grin at the temptation to pull out his cell and take a picture rose… and fell as he crouched down in front of the sleeping boy. "Ya always gotta be a handful, huh Kudo," he mused aloud in a quiet voice.

He carefully lifted the headphones off his head, Kogoro's loud snores assailing his ears the second they were free of Conan's ears. Experience taught him the volume level was fairly accurate. "How the hell do ya sleep like this?" he muttered, setting them on the floor and pulling the comforter off the kid as carefully as he could without jostling him. Once the boy was free of any trappings, he dug his arms under the boy and picked him up as carefully as he could, mindful of the injuries his bandages betrayed and the likely injuries he was probably still hiding, and set him on the bed stretching out his curled legs and pulling the blanket over him. He paused when the boy he thought was sound asleep groped with an arm over his head, hitting pillow and then groped to the side, fingers curling into bed sheets.

"Where…?" Conan opened a bleary eye, his searching arm reaching out again… for the missing headphones Heiji realized.

"Kudo?" he asked softly, trying to decide if the boy was really awake or still caught in some kind of dream.

At the sound of his voice, Conan's eyes flew open, awake in a surge of adrenalin and shot into a sitting position, hissing and curling over his abused ribs in reaction to the quick movement. "Hattori?" He looked over at his friend still frozen standing by the bed.

"You okay?" Heiji asked, lifting the stack of books on the chair by the bed and setting them on the floor to sit down.

"Mmm." Conan straightened slightly from his curl, wrapping his arms around his middle. "Just sore," he muttered.

"That's not what I was asking Kudo," Heiji said firmly, bending to lift the headphones from the floor and hanging them meaningfully in front him. Conan lifted his head sharply wide-eyed hearing the loud sound of Kogoro's snores and snatched the headphones from Heiji's fingers holding them close against his chest.

Heiji sat still, wide-eyed himself at Conan's quick move and tense posture. With a sigh, he leaned forward dropping his elbows on his knees and setting his chin in his hands. "You're a mess, ya know that?" he muttered. Conan avoided his eyes and said nothing, finally pulling the headphones back over his ears. Realizing he was being ignored, Heiji stared at his friend with narrowed eyes and finally reached down to the radio, turning down the volume.

"Hey!" Conan growled at him, fixing Heiji with an angry glare.

Heiji sat silent, staring him down. "You really need these, huh?" Heiji asked in quiet seriousness.

"Don't wanna talk 'bout it," Conan murmured, lying back down, curling away from him towards the wall.

"Ya don't have to. Kuroba explained it to us," he replied, watching Conan closely. The boy froze under his sheets.

"…I'm gonna dart him," Conan muttered, his aggravation pulling him awake. He didn't move from his position with his back to his worried friend.

"Your watch is out," Heiji reminded him, cracking a grin.

"…still gonna dart him," he grumbled, pulling the blankets tighter over himself.

"They got ya scared this time," Heiji said, speaking to Conan's back. "I saw everything that happened at the tower. What's different this time?"

"… … …they saw me…" Conan's light voice finally reached him from his huddle.

"You're in the paper all the time solving crime with the kids, fouling up Kid heists. Like that Haibara girl said, if they knew you'd all be dead already. You're in the clear," Heiji reasoned.

"…they saw me," Conan's tight voice insisted.

"Like I said, they can't have…"

"They **saw** me!" Conan cut him off, turning sharply to face him, his voice edged with aggravation. "They knew where to shoot! The whole time I ran up the tower! **They. saw. me.**"

Heiji stared back into the panic edging at the corners of his friend's eyes and sighed. "They knew someone was there, I'll grant you that," he said, holding up a hand to head off Conan's protests. "So they flew in circles spiraling to the top shooting. They did _not_ identify you _or_…" He placed a steadying hand on Conan's shoulder when he tried protesting again. "…**or** 'Neechan." Conan held his gaze and Heiji could see the hope trying to win out in his frightened eyes.

"But if they find the black box…"

"Black boxes record the positions and readings of the flight computer and cockpit dialogue. Not video. You _know_ that Kudo," Heiji replied before Conan could finish. "You spoke with that Vermouth lady. She woulda told ya if you two were in danger." Conan closed his mouth, his line of vision disappearing somewhere in the sheets. "And if worse comes to worse and they steal the police reports, they all say the one the helicopter chased was 'Kudo Shinichi'," Heiji finished.

Conan's eye shot open at that. "I almost forgot. The police are going to unseal the files and they'll _know_ Ran and I were there!"

"I know, Sato-keiji told me," Heiji said. "They already asked Shiratori-keibu to warn them when that happens. It's gonna be okay, alright Kudo? You got plenty of people who know she needs to be kept safe." He searched Conan's still worried eyes and reached a hand out, gently mussing his hair. "And I'll stay until this one blows over, just like all the last few close calls."

Conan waved his hand away from his head. "Cut it out! Concussion, okay_?_!"

"Yeah, yeah," Heiji muttered pushing himself up from his chair and crouching down to raise the volume on the headphones back up… just not as loud as the deafening snores had been before. He picked up his cup of coffee and started picking his way over the futons to the door and turned off the light.

"Hattori."

He paused in the doorway, the light from the hallway illuminating the boy in the bed looking at him.

"I want to go home. Tomorrow," Conan said quietly.

"You're still a mess of bandages. Kuroba said your stitches can't come out for few days," he said from the door. "What are ya gonna say?"

"I'll tell her the truth. I got hurt at a Kaitou Kid heist. I asked you to help cover for me. She'll be mad and yell. I'll be grounded. And things'll go back to normal, and I'll be _home_," Conan said stubbornly.

Heiji grinned to himself noticing his friend had automatically assumed he meant Ran. "Okay, Kudo. I'll let Kuroba know." Conan nodded to him, the understanding of a sealed deal. Satisfied the conversation was over, he shut the door leaving Conan to his headphones.

* * *

It was 5:30 in the morning. 5:30 in the morning and still as dark as the middle of the night. Hakuba shut the Kuroba front door as softly as he could. Despite the fact that both Kuroba and the Kansai detective had gone to bed not long after Kuroba had gotten home, he could just imagine how light a sleeper the thief and detective likely were, an occupational hazard, and he was in no mood to answer questions. His hand clenched on the small watch in his hand. The Osakan had left the device on the table and considering what he had planned, it would likely come in handy.

He turned the corner of Kuroba's block onto a street lined with high-class sprawling mansions and studied the windows of his home at the end of the block. His Baaya's window was flashing with the dim inconsistent light of a television and he wouldn't put it past her to still be awake. Especially considering the fact he hadn't called in to say he was staying at a friend's house. Out of curiosity, now that he was thinking about it, he dug his phone out of a side pocket in the school satchel he was carrying. Sure enough, he had missed a good twenty calls, all from his long-time housekeeper. With an annoyed sigh, he double-checked to make sure his phone was still on silent and tucked it back in his bag, fishing out his house keys instead and stared up at his house, considering his options. His father had set the front door to a device that chimed the Westminster Abbey's church bells every time the door was opened, announcing the arrival of any guests through speaker's set on both the first and second floors and could be heard throughout the house. The back door through the kitchen would give a warning beep as soon as the door opened counting down the seconds until he could put the proper code in the alarm. Not very loud, but the servant's staircase in the kitchen could carry the sound within hearing of his Baaya's bedroom suite. If she truly was awake he'd be heard, he had no doubt. He often thought the woman had better hearing than him for being in her late sixties. That left him with the seldom-used French doors in the west wing to the library. Yes, he really truly definitely was spending too much time with the thief.

He tucked his school bag under his arm and unlocked the gate to their garden. Cautiously, he sent a wary look over his neighborhood for any early risers. Convinced he was in the clear, he slipped in and shut the gate with a wince to the loud creak the wrought iron gate let out and worked his way through his mother's old garden, wildly overgrown ever since his parent's separation, to the back courtyard. He was just grateful that his Baaya's room was on the opposite wing of the house. He was also glad he insisted on keeping keys for every entrance to the large house despite his Baaya's questioning the need for such a redundancy when they only used the same two doors everyday.

He shut the library doors and navigated himself through the familiar room in the dark, the only room in the large empty house he spent much time in besides his room. As soon as he hit the hallway, he turned on the watchlight and quietly made his way to the far wing and his father's private office.

An experimental tug told him that the door was still locked tight from his last foray into the disarrayed mess that was his father's office. He glanced both ways down the corridor considering his options. His Baaya was the only one with a full set of keys for every room and she kept them in her room. Whether she was asleep or not, it wasn't likely he'd be able to retrieve them. But after watching Kuroba's earlier work on his own door… He crossed his fingers and crouched down to study the doorknob. The double doors and consequently the doorknobs were new, less than a year old, having been replaced after a broken pipe had warped the original doors and if he was lucky, like most newer doors, these had a child's emergency unlock function like Kuroba's room. He grinned when he found the tiny hole and a tiny, barely noticeable catch under the knob and pulled a ballpoint pen from his bag, unscrewing the end and pulling out the long slim ink cartridge. It was a perfect fit, just barely able to pass through the hole. He jammed the pen in, holding down the catch with the nail of his thumb, biting his lip as he found the catch stiff and difficult to press without almost breaking his nail and grinned when he heard the satisfying click of the door unlocking. He let himself into the office and tossed the disassembled and now severely bent pen in the desk side wastebasket and cast the watchlight over the line of dark wood filing cabinets lining the far wall.

From the time his mother had left for England when he was a child, he had taken over the never-ending task of trying to keep his father organized, especially considering his father's position was hardly one that would accept the excuse of accidentally _losing_ sensitive documents. Already anticipating the high likelihood of his father misplacing anything he touched, he had long since programmed his father's work computer to send and store copies of everything that had crossed it once a month to his home computer and the one task he had finally taught his father to adhere to religiously of printing and filing these backups in case of emergency… or rather in case he lost anything. And thus, his flashlight was now trained on what might be the only original hardcopy records of every file he had found in the tainted records since the time his father had first taken office. Closing the door tightly behind himself, he walked up to the first set of drawers, his father's oldest files, and started searching through drawers for the now familiar case numbers.

/

He flinched in surprise when the lights to his father's office were turned on suddenly but didn't break stride in his search of pulling folders to join the piled trail of folders sitting on top of the file cabinets he had already searched as he worked his way up towards the latest cases, the floor littered with files that had been accidentally pulled out during his search that he had tossed aside in annoyance.

"Saguru-bouchan? Where have you been_?_! Do you have any idea what time it is_?_!" the elderly woman scolded angrily. "And just what do you think you're doing to your father's office_?_!

Hakuba neatly ignored her, stepping up his speed to search through the last few drawers before he was forced to leave. The last few drawers brought him to the most recent of case files his father had printed, a truck explosion on Raiha Pass. He gave a frustrated sigh realizing the tower disaster files were still on his father's main computer and wouldn't be sent for at least another two weeks.

"Saguru! Saguru-bouchan! Look at me this minute!" the harried housekeeper ordered. Hakuba finally glanced her way to where she was standing in the doorway blocking the exit. "I already warned you about coming in here and what is this mess you've made_?_!" she demanded walking further into the room and over spilled files covering the floor. "Explain yourself this instant young man!"

Still ignoring her, Hakuba gathered up the case files he had pulled and shoved as many of them as he could into his satchel, forcing them to fit. After a few attempts, he abandoned trying to buckle the top closed of the over-stuffed bag.

"Are you going to tell me where you've been all this time? I've been trying to contact you all night. I was just about to call the police to go find you. Do you realize what kind of scandal the press would have made of that? Where were you?"

"Nowhere," Hakuba muttered, grabbing his heavy open satchel from its loose handle and snatching up the last few files he hadn't managed to fit in his arms.

"This is the first time I've had to do this since you were five but consider yourself grounded until further notice. No detective work or after school activities for at least a month. Go straight to your room and rest assured your father will be hearing about this!" Hakuba met her angry disappointed glare with one of his own and pushed his way past her into the corridor, walking briskly towards the grand staircase and his room. "Now march yourself upstairs and make yourself presentable. I have several case requests from London that will be waiting for you to review over breakfast. I've already alerted your teachers we'll be leaving for England this evening and this will be your last day." The elderly woman cast a final worrisome look over the mess of files and paper covering the floor and the multitude of drawers Hakuba had left open with a sigh and pulled the door closed, locking what she had thought was already a locked door.

Hakuba dashed as quickly as he could for his room without having his footsteps sound like a herd of elephants, a lifetime of manners for conducting himself in the museum-like mansions his parents lived in making themselves known, and pulled open his door. He crossed to his desk and yanked open a drawer, snatching up his external hard drive and exiting his room, disappearing down the hall to the west wing before his Baaya could make her way upstairs and catch him for yet another lesson on impropriety or, worse yet, jeopardizing his father's image. He let himself into the upstairs sitting room that hadn't been used since his mother still lived with them just as he heard the elderly woman's steps on the main staircase. He crossed through the room to an ornate door that let him into the second floor of the library, rushing down the spiral staircase and let himself back outside into the garden, rushing away before he could be found and back to the Kuroba house. Once he hit the streets, he was able to join the rush of students walking to school and disguise himself amongst the throng of dark colored uniforms.

* * *

Kaito loaded another blank disc in the computer, giving the command for the program to start burning.

"Is that the last one?" Conan called from the restroom down the hall.

"Yeah," Kaito replied softly with an eye towards the still sleeping and lightly snoring Kansai detective. "You sure we shouldn't wake him?"

"It's fine. I think the headphones kept him up," Conan muttered, wandering back into the room studying his bandaged arms and hands that stood out all the more against the short-sleeved tee-shirt he was wearing. "Do you know where my coat went?"

"No idea. You don't want to wear it anyway, I'm sure some cop would arrest you on suspicion of illegally smoking if you did," Kaito muttered watching the green bar on his monitor creep closer and closer to the right side of the screen. "Considering how loud that man snores _and_ the fact that those headphones noise cancel pretty well, I'm surprised you're not deaf," he said with a grin. "How _do_ you get any sleep over there?" he asked in open curiosity.

Conan looked up at him in surprise from his search for the shoes he had lost in Kaito's bedroom the night before. "I guess I just got used to it," he answered. Kaito nodded back absently, distracted by watching the disc finalize its burning.

"I still can't believe you guys aren't even going to peek at these files after Hakuba finally got everything unlocked," Kaito muttered, digging for a spare jewel case.

Conan gave him an annoyed look and bent his head back to carefully pulling his socks over his splinted toes. "It's not that we don't want to, it's just Hakuba was right when he said it would break chain of evidence. The computer will timestamp when those files are opened. It's better if we do it in FBI presence so no one can claim we planted anything in those files. Are you almost done?"

"Yeah, last one just finished," Kaito murmured watching the green line finally finish its slow creep.

"What are you guys doing?" Heiji mumbled around a yawn and stretch from his futon.

"We're taking a copy of the computer files to the FBI," Conan answered. "Over at the Haido City Hotel. Room 258. Stay here and get some more sleep. You can follow us after Hakuba comes back."

"The jerk left?" Heiji asked, curling on his side, his sleep-thick voice doing nothing to mask the hopefulness in his voice.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Kaito murmured with a wry grin. "He left all those papers and boxes he was working on downstairs so he's probably just running an errand or something." Heiji nodded in understanding and rolled over, falling back asleep almost instantly. The computer made a soft noise and the dvd drive opened, offering up the last of the Black Organization's data. Kaito grabbed it, fitting it into the open jewel case he'd had ready and waiting, and picked himself up off the floor, shoving it and the other three cases of discs into his jacket pocket. "Are you going like that?" he asked, finally looking over the shorts and tee-shirt Conan was wearing. Clothes that did nothing to hide the bandages covering his hands from fingertip to elbow and the bandages circling his head, still spotted with blood that had leaked from his stitches. "You're going to attract a lot of attention like that. Someone's going to think you were abused."

"You only brought me short-sleeved shirts," Conan pointed out in annoyance. "And no jacket."

"Just hold on a sec," Kaito murmured, digging through his closet and finally pulling out a dark colored jacket from the back he had outgrown in middle school. "Try that one," he said tossing the jacket to the small boy. Conan obediently pulled on the jacket that hung down to his knees, the arms of the jacket swallowing his own hiding them all the way down to his wrapped fingers. Kaito couldn't help himself, he burst out laughing at the sight of the shrunken detective swamped by the over-large jacket. Conan gave him a dull glare. "At least it's better than nothing," he finally managed, watching the grumbling seven-year-old zip up the jacket. "And here, use this too," he said, holding out a hand knit ski cap with the name 'Kaito' stitched into the lower band. "It'll hide those bandages," he finished, tapping his own forehead and patiently waiting for Conan to take the hat. Conan gave him a last glare and rudely grabbed the proffered ski cap, jamming it down low over his brow, wincing at the pain from the sensitive skin around the deep cut as even the light grip of the large ski cap made the wound throb. Kaito gave him a big brotherly pat on the head. "Guess that'll have to do," he said, opening the door and starting for the stairs. Conan collected his bowtie Kaito had finally found for him and followed after, still favoring a leg with his toes still darkly colored from injury.

He caught up with Kaito at the foot of the stairs, watching the thief collect his wallet from the living room while he sat on a step and pulled his shoes on. His right foot barely fit into the suddenly very tight shoe and he had to completely forgo any attempt at lacing. He pulled the crisscross of laces as loose as he could and gingerly stood up, testing his weight on the swollen foot.

"Maybe you should stay here and wait for Hakuba."

Conan looked with a sharp glare for the thief he hadn't heard creep up on him, leaning on the stair rail watching him. "It'll be fine once I get used to walking on it," he argued stubbornly, walking for the front door and refusing to show any discomfort.

"If you say so," Kaito murmured in amusement, watching the small boy reach up with a bit of a wince and open the door.

"Oh!"

They both looked in surprise to an equally surprised Aoko still holding her hand up to knock. She stared with a widening grin at the small wide-eyed boy in a jacket threatening to swallow him and the ski hat she had knitted for Kaito two years ago riding low, ready to dip over his eyes hanging from the front doorknob. "Conan-kun!" She couldn't help herself, she reached down and scooped him up, careful of his injuries, in a cuddle against her chest. "You look so cute!" she squealed, tucking his head under her chin and swinging back in forth happily.

"Waahh!"

Conan flushed furiously realizing her quick grab and ensuing huggle had trapped his hands against two somethings very soft and warm and liable to get him very hurt from the occasional white-faced glares of the thief behind him he was just able to take in at the top of each of Aoko's swings.

Kaito, for his part, stared in wide-eyed horror as Aoko cuddled the not-child against her ample cleavage under her school uniform quite aware of where Kudo's hands were for all of a couple of seconds before his hand shot out, grabbing Conan by the back of his zipped jacket and yanking him out of Aoko's arms, pulling the boy behind him back into the foyer and dropping him unceremoniously on the floor.

"OW!"

"Kaito!"

Kaito ignored the pained cry behind him staring at Aoko wide-eyed and not quite sure what had just happened. "Aoko? What are you doing here_!_?"

"It's time for school moron! Why aren't you dressed? And what are you doing treating a kid like that_?_!" Aoko scolded, punching him in the arm and leaning around him to peek at Conan where he was still sitting on the floor where he had been dumped. "Are you okay, Conan-kun?" she asked with a bright smile.

"Ah… uhn…" Conan made a noncommittal sound and looked away with a bright blush after noticing Kaito's poison glare at him from over Aoko's shoulder. "'m… 'kay, Aoko-neechan," he mumbled picking himself up and putting a little distance between himself and the possibility of being grabbed again by ducking behind Kaito's legs.

Kaito glared as Kudo's 'shy act' drew 'coo's' and 'aww's' from Aoko and poked her in the shoulder to get her attention. "You're gonna be late, Aoko," he muttered grouchily.

"You're skipping again?" she asked with a sigh.

"Uhh…taking the kid to his doctor's visit," he lied quickly. "They have to check his stitches."

"Oh. Want me to tell sensei you're still taking care of him today?" she asked, picking her school bag from where she had set it resting against her leg when she picked up Conan.

"Uhh… yeah, sure. Whatever," he mumbled distractedly feeling Conan try to step forward and tucking the child back behind him with a sweep of his leg before Aoko could try cuddling him again.

"Okay. I'll bring today's homework over tonight," she replied hopping off his front step and starting down his sidewalk. "Don't forget we have a history test next week. Don't forget to study," she ordered.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get to it," Kaito grumbled.

"Bye, Conan-kun," she called with a friendly wave. "Good luck with the doctor. I hope you feel better soon."

"Bye, bye Aoko-neechan," Conan relied softly with a shy wave from behind Kaito's legs.

Kaito glared at him shutting the door and leaning against it in an arm-crossed pout. "Great. Now we have to wait for her to leave to get out of here," he muttered staring at the seven-year-old straightening the too large jacket from his recent fall to the floor. "Little fake. How do you stomach doing it? Acting all cute like that," he muttered in disgust.

Conan stared at him curiously, not the least bit miffed at Kaito's tone, studying the thief's annoyed expression until Kaito noticed his sharp study and started fidgeting, a touch of a red burn crossing his nose. A slow grin spread over his face. "Don't be jealous 'cause you can't do it," he finally answered.

"Do what?" Kaito returned on reflex. Conan held up his hands, palms open, ignoring the growing flush threatening to overtake his own face and Kaito stared blankly until it connected in his head where those hands had just been. Kaito's eyes went wide and the burn across his nose engulfed his face in a flash all the way to his burning ears. "**I don't**… **I mean, that's not**… … …**You are **_**so**_** not a cute kid**!" he finally spat out amid Conan's loud laughter punctuated by gasps of pain as the child wrapped his arms around his stomach for his aching ribs. "When this is all over I am so telling your precious 'Ran-neechan' you groped another girl," he muttered under his breath to the oblivious child still trying to get his giggling under control. He settled for glaring quietly in bristling anger at the boy until he finally fell silent wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. "Are you done yet?" he asked testily, after glancing at his watch. Aoko had had more than enough time to make it around the corner of the block.

"Huh? What?" Conan asked still somewhat breathless.

"Has anybody ever told you you're annoying as hell," he muttered, yanking the door open and taking a quick look up and down the sidewalk for any sign of Aoko.

"Ran used to tell me that all the time when I was big," Conan replied with a wide grin, somewhat proud of his ability to pull a good roundhouse kick out of Ran with a few dozen mentions of Holmes. "Still does."

"Lets go, I think we're good," Kaito sighed, pulling his house keys from a pocket and locking up behind them. He took off for the bus stop at a quick annoyed pace with the child trailing behind him at a slower, mincing pace but obstinately forcing himself to keep up. They had barely made it to the end of his property on the sidewalk when the engine of a car down the block revved with a throaty rumble. He felt his skin crawl up the back of his neck and up and down his arms. It was the low thrum of a powerful engine… and completely out of place in his neighborhood full of elderly retirees. And it was getting closer. "Kudo!" he murmured in a soft voice to the boy next to him who also seemed to be on high alert. "I think we need to get out of he…"

"Conan-kun! What are you doing here_?_!"

Next to the thief, Conan froze and winced at the all too familiar voice. A desperate look around revealed no place to hide without obviously running away. Although, Kaito had certainly found one because he suddenly realized he was standing **all alone** on the sidewalk. '_Traitorous bastard!' _He turned around slowly on the sidewalk to face Sato leaning on an elbow out the window to speak with him from her squad car window. "Umm… Sato-keiji, what are you doing in Ekoda?" he smiled with all the innocent-eyed false cheer he could muster.

"Aah, we had to meet with…"

"Just a few errands," Sato replied with a nervous laugh, effectively cutting off Takagi. "But this is perfect. We can give you a ride back to Mouri-san's and we can finally get your statement," she said with a bright, cheerful smile.

"Aah, but I… uhh," Conan swung his gaze around wildly, desperately trying to find the thief among the trees and bushes of the neighborhood lawns to beg for an 'out.'

"Don't even worry, it's no trouble at all," Sato smiled at him, cutting off whatever excuse he was about to make. "And forgive me if I'm saying too much but, shouldn't you be in school right now?" she asked, her 'kind' voice taking on a warningly firm cutting edge. "I'd certainly hate to have to inform Mouri-san and Ran-chan that we had to notify the truant officers about finding you out here. I'm sure you agree it would be easiest for everyone if _we_ just gave you a quick ride home. Unless you'd like Ran-chan to extend that grounding you're supposed to be under."

Conan's panicked eyes narrowed into a muted glare at the detective's light threat. Takagi obediently got out of the car and opened the back door for Conan with the 'gentle' prodding of Sato's light punch to his arm. Conan gave a last desperate search for Kaito with his only hope for an excuse dying a miserable abandoned-on-the-sidewalk-in-front-of-the-police-car death before accepting his fate and stiffly climbing on the backseat with his body protesting the awkward bending he never really noticed before required to get into cars. He pretended not to notice the questioning look in Takagi's eyes or the fact that the detective was watching him very carefully. He flinched at the dull click of the car door closing, enclosing him in the handle-less backseat like an arrested criminal.

* * *

Kaito waited for the police car to turn a corner and disappear from sight before dropping out of the tree he'd jumped up in a panic, a good year and a half's worth of instinct kicking in before he could stop it. He _really_ hadn't meant to leave Conan alone on the sidewalk, but he certainly wasn't going to stay in the presence of a detective he'd impersonated. And among many an eavesdropping session with the task force, he'd heard… stories… about the fates of those who tangled with the shorthaired female detective, the singular reason he had never impersonated her. Not to mention he couldn't quite help feeling Kudo had it coming after the last ten minutes he'd spent with the brat. Yes, the shrimp was definitely on his own.

He gave his jacket a few brushes to get rid of the few leaves and twigs clinging and gave a small, tiny self-satisfied grin after the red sports car. '_Karma does exist,_' he mused, looking around the neighborhood to see if anyone had seen him leave the tree. He sighed as his high of watching Kudo get his comeuppance drained out of him and he was left with the realization he would now have to go meet with a room of FBI agents by himself. "Aww, crap," he muttered, deflating rapidly. He turned on his heel and started ambling back towards his house. Maybe Kudo's friend was up already.

He was halfway back when he noticed a police squad car turning down his lane at the top of the block. "Shit," he hissed dashing the rest of the way to his house, key already out, and unlocked his door at top speed. "I can't believe I forgot about the truancy patrol," he scolded himself, grateful his neighbor's trees gave him enough cover to get inside the door and pull it closed, anxiously watching out the peephole hoping he hadn't been seen by the vehicle trolling for delinquent students trying to cut school. He really had no time to sort things out at school today if he got picked up again. Officer Takamori had sworn he'd make sure Nakamori heard about it if he ever caught him skipping. Of course it was partially his own fault for not hearing the school announcement of their new crackdown on truancy having slept through it after a long night of task force dodging. He heaved a sigh of relief watching the car pass by.

"I thought ya already left," a voice came from behind him. Kaito looked up in surprise seeing the tired detective watching him from the stairs. "What are ya doing? And where's Kudo?"

"Uh… hiding from the truancy officer before he catches me playing hooky?" Kaito mumbled with a dusting of red crossing his nose for being caught peeking.

Heiji mulled over the thought, glancing at his watch around a yawn. "Oh yeah, guess it _is_ time for school," he mumbled. "And Kudo?"

"He got caught."

Heiji stared at him, instantly awake. "What_?_!"

"Those two detectives from Division One, umm… Sato-keiji and Takagi-keiji? They must have been staking out the neighborhood. I think they kind of kidnapped him," Kaito murmured hesitantly, waiting for the Osakan to come down on him for letting the two detectives take off with the boy.

"Oh." Heiji gave an amused snort picturing how that encounter must have gone down. "What did you do, ditch him?" Kaito hesitated a moment and finally nodded, staring at him in trepidation, waiting for the detective to show anger. "Seriously_?_! You did_?_!" Heiji burst out laughing and got close enough to clap Kaito on the shoulder. "I can't believe you did that_?_! Kudo's gonna be pissed! Wish I coulda seen his face." He abandoned Kaito in the entrance to head for the kitchen and something to munch on, Kaito trailing after him.

"You're not mad? I pretty much abandoned him," Kaito exclaimed following the detective to the kitchen.

"Kudo needed ta stop avoiding those two and, between you and me, sometimes that arrogant brat needs taking down a peg," Heiji tossed back with a flippant shrug for his friend and fellow detective's fate, verily relieved he wouldn't have to face Sato-keiji and Yamato-keibu again. "It's good for him. It just wouldn't be fair if he always got away with _everything_. And don't worry, Sato-han and Takagi-han will keep him safe." Kaito grinned at the detective's attitude and frankly, fully agreed. "If ya wait for me to get dressed, I'll go with you to the hotel."

"Thanks, I…"

They both looked up at the sound of the glass door in the living room sliding open. They looked into the doorway watching Hakuba tuck the key back on top of the door lintel with his opposite arm loaded down with folders and his overstuffed satchel. "Oh good, you're still here," Hakuba muttered when he caught sight of the two watching him.

"Where were ya?" Heiji asked, watching him dump his load on the coffee table.

"None of your concern," the blonde said brushing past him to corner the thief and ignoring Heiji's annoyed glare and soft cursing. "I need your…expertise on something. Have you ever pulled any heists inside the Tocho building?"

"I plead the fi…"

"I don't _care_ about what you've done in the past, just can you get me through a few doors there," Hakuba muttered, effectively cutting him off.

"What exactly are we talking about? Do I need to come up with a disguise?" Kaito asked watching Hakuba wind up a usb cord to shove in a pocket and tuck a small external in his other, genuinely curious about what Hakuba could be planning at the high profile building.

"My father's going to be in a meeting with the city council all morning. I need to get into his office. I can get us to his office suite but his office will be locked and so will the drawers in his desk," Hakuba muttered, looking at his watch. "If we're going to get what I need, we need to go now before the majority of the people who work the 9:00 shift show up."

"Umm…yeah, sure," Kaito murmured, pushing himself away from the kitchen counters and dashing for the portrait door to retrieve his lock picks.

"Wait for me. I need ta change," Heiji cried, abandoning his search for something to eat to get dressed.

* * *

"Okay, _why_ do I need ta wait out here again?" Heiji asked with an aggravated glare at the blonde detective.

"There are cameras everywhere and there's no way _I_ can avoid leaving a paper trial," Hakuba muttered, watching the entrance carefully. "But my presence won't be questioned much. My father will…should recognize Kuroba as one of my classmates but things will look suspicious if I have to explain your presence too."

"Alright. Fine," Heiji muttered sitting himself down on a concrete ledge in a huff. "Just hurry up."

"Come on," Hakuba muttered briskly to the thief who was watching the two arguing detectives warily. He started up the stairs to the building without waiting for the thief.

Kaito gave Heiji an apologetic look to which Heiji responded with a shooing motion. "Sorry about…"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm almost used to his being an ass by now," Heiji muttered.

Kaito caught up to his classmate halfway to the door. "I'm still not exactly sure what it is we're doing here," he sighed, keeping his voice low watching the many civil servant types milling around outside smoking.

"There's information on my father's computer I need," Hakuba said in an even lower voice.

"You're the computer expert. You couldn't crack your way in?" Kaito muttered sarcastically, stopping when Hakuba paused to flash a badge to a security guard and they were buzzed in to the secure elevator wells. Hakuba stayed quiet until they were alone in an elevator.

"You're right. The security in this place is abysmal. That's why I secured my father's terminal myself," Hakuba replied. "If I want to get anything out of that system, I need physical access. We just need to get in and out quickly."

"…Are you going to tell me what you're looking for?" Kaito asked after a while. "I'd like to know what I'm risking jail time for if we get caught here."

"Hopefully… …nothing," Hakuba said with a sigh, avoiding looking at the thief next to him and focusing on the floor counter on the wall by the doors.

Kaito sent him a dark look before sighing and leaning back against the elevator wall. "Perfect," he muttered with a heavy sigh. "You know, for someone who's spent the last two years being very lofty about his 'morals' where my night job is involved, you've been pretty quick to call on my abilities these last few days. And you've yet to tell me what you're really up to. I'm not your private ninja." Hakuba stayed frozen, staring at the counter and for a while, Kaito didn't think he was going to answer.

"…I know. I'm sorry if I've been… secretive Kuroba, and I promise this will be the last time," he said quietly. "After this, I'll have what I need."

"But you're still not going to explain anything," Kaito muttered with a sigh.

"…I'm sorr-…"

"Just… shut up," Kaito sighed, cutting him off but with no real venom in his voice… just a deep weariness. "You detectives are nothing but trouble. You better be glad I have an FBI 'get out of jail free' card."

At that, Hakuba cracked a grin that Kaito couldn't see. They both fell silent when the doors opened and he pushed his way through a sea of business suits trusting Kaito to keep up. "We need to take a different elevator from here," he said softly when the crowd thinned out. "The elevators that reach the top floors are at the opposite end of the building, for security reasons," he said softly, hurrying them both down the halls of public service offices. His eyes went wide as he recognized a woman leaving the employees lounge with a cup of coffee in hand. It was too late to avoid being seen, they were the only two heading toward that part of the corridor.

"Hakuba-kun, what are you doing here at this time of day? Shouldn't you be in school? And who's this?" the older woman asked, eyeing him with motherly concern.

"Uhh…Today's a religious holiday in England," Hakuba lied gripping Kuroba's arm and keeping him from slowing down. "And he's with me. Excuse us."

"Who was that?" Kaito hissed, being strong-armed into rushing in as fast a pace Hakuba could politely manage without running past the lady and not greeting her properly.

"Shimada-san, my father's secretary," Hakuba muttered with a low swear. "I was hoping to keep my father from finding out I was here but she'll blab as soon as he's out of his meeting."

"Su-chan! What are you doing here_?_!" an enthusiastic woman called loudly from the lounge doorway they had just passed. Everyone in the hallway looked up from their own conversations at the commissioner's son and the teenage boy with him.

"Son of a… keep walking!" Hakuba ground out tersely through gritted teeth hauling Kuroba around a corner to the nearest exit, an emergency stairwell, still a good ten meters from their target elevator. "Sorry, Yasue-san! We're on urgent business!" he called over his shoulder and all but slamming the door shut. He let go of the thief's arm as soon as the door closed and took the stairs two at a time to gain distance.

Kaito matched his climb evenly cocking an eyebrow. "Su-chan?" he asked, studying the deep flush creeping up Hakuba's pale skin.

Hakuba spared him an annoyed glance slowing his climb to normal steps now that he had a buffer of two floors between himself and the floor they'd just escaped. "Yasue-san runs Archives, she's been here since my father took office when I was two. I… had trouble pronouncing my name when I was little," he mumbled crossly.

"So what's the big deal?" Kaito asked curiously, firmly clamping down on his urge to grin when his question caused Hakuba's blush to spread in fiery red flames down his neck and to his ears.

"Apparently she's had schooling overseas. It makes my name sound like a girl's name," he mumbled in a diminishing voice.

"…Su-chan. So it's a girl's name?" Kaito said to himself experimentally, "It's kind of cute."

"Just shut up… Kid," Hakuba grumbled, determined to ignore Kaito until they made it to the top floor.

/

They stopped just outside the police commissioner's office suite, Kaito carefully watching the hallways while Hakuba dug his house keys out of a pocket. "There's an awful lot of cameras in this hallway," Kaito murmured in a soft voice.

"The mayor of Minato and a few members of the Diet have offices on this floor," Hakuba whispered back, unlocking the door. "Lets make this fast, I'm sure Shimada-san will be here soon."

"Fine, where should I start?" Kaito asked looking around the plush ante-room with its thick red carpet and dark hardwood furnishings.

"Here. This is the door to my father's office," Hakuba said, bringing the thief's focus back to his classmate at the ornate set of double doors.

Without a word, Kaito pulled his picks from a pocket and bent to work on the lock. A glance told him Hakuba was standing behind him watching him work while simultaneously blocking what he was doing from the security cameras in the room. In seconds, he was standing again and pushing open the door.

"That was fast," Hakuba said in surprise, following the thief into the office and frowning when he realized Kaito had stopped just inside the doorway. "What?"

Kaito stood silent, staring at the ornate hardwood desk. "…That desk…" he trailed off, pressing his lips into a thin line as he fell silent.

"What about it?" Hakuba asked, sidestepping around the thief blocking his way and closing the door tight behind him. He spared a quick assessing glance at his father's expensive sprawling desk. Aside from it being made from some exotic endangered wood it was hardly anything special. Most of the offices on the floor had the same design. When it didn't look like Kaito was about to move or say anything more, he brought up a hand and snapped loudly in front of the thief's eyes. "Focus, Kuroba. We're on borrowed time."

"Right. What did you want me to do next?" Kaito asked, shaking himself from his stupor. There was just something very familiar about the expensive desk's design.

Hakuba led them both around the desk to a locked vertical drawer. "And this one," he said, moving aside to let Kaito crouch down to work.

"There," Kaito replied, sitting back and scratching at the palms of his hands through their light bandaging, still a little itchy from their healing burns and tucked his picks back into a pocket.

As soon as the door was open, Hakuba reached in and started up the computer. He pulled out the external and cord while the system booted up, attaching the usb to the now accessible tower. Kaito watched him work from his spot on the floor while Hakuba navigated to a hidden folder and set the contents to copy to the external drive.

"That was all you needed?" Kaito asked, watching Hakuba disconnect the external.

"Yes. Here, hide this in your jacket," he muttered, shoving the external Kaito's way while he pulled up the command prompt.

"Right, sure," Kaito replied with a cross sigh, but obeyed orders nonetheless.

"I just need to get rid of any evidence we were here or what we just did," Hakuba said while he worked on covering their digital footprints.

"We_?_! I opened a door," Kaito grumbled, picking himself up off the floor and zipping up his jacket.

Hakuba rolled his eyes pulling his handkerchief from a pocket and wiping down his father's desk for their fingerprints. "Lets go," he said, leading them back out the office, wiping down the door handles as he went.

"Shouldn't I lock the doors again?" Kaito asked, hurrying to keep up with Hakuba's dash for the door.

"No time. Shimada-san's break is almost over and she'll be back soon," he hissed, pushing Kaito ahead of himself out the door. "Don't worry, my father won't notice the difference."

"…okay," Kaito mused aloud uncertainly, allowing Hakuba to herd him back to the emergency stairs, still feeling hesitant about leaving a job half done. "Aren't you being a little… harsh? About your dad I mean," he said softly so his voice wouldn't echo quite so much in the deep empty stairwell.

"It's really none of your business Kuroba," Hakuba muttered, avoiding the thief's curious gaze as he passed him, retaking the lead and refusing to say another word until he was leading them both back out into the corridors of the first floor.

Recognizing the stubborn set of the blonde's shoulders, Kaito let the subject drop and shifted his attention to studying the city hall corridors and offices, silently noting the security cameras over head and ducking his head as nonchalantly as he could, studying his watch, messing with his jacket's zipper, and conveniently making sure each camera missed any views of his face. As soon as they hit the central main plaza of the building, he started back for the front doors and almost jumped when Hakuba's firm grab on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks, Hakuba's grip hauling him to continue on towards the back maintenance corridors of the building.

"If we go out the front, we'll be searched," Hakuba muttered in a low voice, answering Kaito's questioning look. "We're going out the service entrance."

"Why on the way out? It makes more sense to search people on the way in," Kaito wondered aloud in as quiet and non-carrying a voice as possible with so many people milling around. "You know, in case someone was trying to bomb the place."

"Believe me, I know," Hakuba replied. "Like I've said before, the security in this place is deplorable. Come on, it's this way." He steered them down a empty utilitarian hallway of storage rooms. Kaito nodded, trusting Hakuba to lead them out. He followed the detective out a swinging set of double doors with small oval windows into a large garage with two parked postal trucks and around the many large wheeled canvas bins of mail and packages.

"Hakuba-kun, here to collect for the commissioner?" a postman busy chucking boxes into a half full bin called out from the back of a truck.

"Good morning, Takano-san," Hakuba greeted politely, walking up to the man. Behind him, Kaito froze wide-eyed, staring at the man he had accosted only a few days ago. "You have packages for him?"

"Nah, nothing today," he said, "Hey Usami-kun!" A second man poked his head out the back of the other truck. "Anything for the commissioner over there?"

"Nothin' over here!" Usami called back, before disappearing back into his truck.

"Sorry, kid," Takano replied to the blonde teen with a shrug. "Who's the new guy?" he asked, gesturing to the teen still hanging back with the full bins.

Hakuba looked back to Kaito and raised an eyebrow at the thief's distance. "Intern," he replied smoothly, turning back to the postman. "Just showing him around."

"Okay," the mailman replied, staring at Kaito for a moment longer before turning back to sorting. "Good luck with that."

Satisfied, they were no longer being watched, Hakuba motioned Kaito over and walked out the garage doors, sprinting for the sidewalk as they intermingled with pedestrian traffic. "What was that about?" he muttered to the thief. "You didn't mug him or something, did you?"

"…kind of…" Kaito whispered back, blushing slightly under Hakuba's firm reproachful stare.

"You didn't _really_ mug him? **Tell me** you didn't _actually_ mug him!" Hakuba hissed in muted horror.

"No! Of course not!" Kaito replied in a rush. "I just, sort of… knocked him unconscious, stole his clothes, and left him in an alley." Now that he heard it out loud, he had to bite his lip to keep from letting the time-inappropriate laughter from escaping when he realized how outlandish it sounded, a task made more difficult when he saw the horrified incredulous look on the detective's face.

Hakuba looked away in disgust realizing the thief was trying desperately not to laugh. "Freak," he muttered. "That's nothing to be proud of. And it's not funny," he added hearing the muffled laughter escape the thief.

"Yes it is," Kaito argued, finally losing his battle and breaking out into full laughter as they rounded the corner and caught back up with the Osakan detective looking back and forth between them both, Hakuba looking annoyed and disgusted and the thief caught in hysterical laughter.

"What's the matter?" he asked, standing to join their small huddle.

"I've shocked Hakuba's sensibilities," Kaito replied, ignoring the blonde's scowl and pulling his fit of the giggles under control.

"Right… If you two are done, we should get going," Heiji said, watching the crowds on the sidewalks cautiously. "Ya still got the discs?" he asked.

"Discs?" Hakuba asked looking at the two.

Kaito pulled the collection of jewel cases from a pocket just far enough for him to see. "We made copies of the hard drive," he told the blonde softly. "We're taking them to the FBI."

"A good idea," he nodded, "I'd rather the original hard drive stay where it is. It's safer to keep it in the tower."

"He should come," Heiji said in all seriousness to the thief, "James-han will want ta meet him."

"James?" Hakuba asked looking between the two. "Who's that?"

"The FBI agent in charge," Kaito said quietly, watching the people walking around them carefully. "And he's right. You should come along."

"I really should start working on that…"

"You mean this?" Kaito asked, pulling the external from down his jacket with a grin. "You'll get it back after you come with us," he said zipping up his jacket again and taking off down the sidewalk for the nearest subway terminal, Heiji following after not bothering to hide his snickers.

"Of all the childish…" Hakuba grumbled his complaints the entire subway ride realizing too late his mistake in allowing Kaito to carry anything.

/

"We really shouldn't be doing this!" Heiji hissed watching the streets in paranoid fear. "We need ta go! Now!"

It was a mistake. It was a mistake and he knew it. He never should have let the two know the sleek, black Porsche they had passed parked on the side of the street was an organization vehicle. And not just any agent's, Gin's of all things.

_The three had been walking along casually, or rather he and Kaito had been walking along casually, the snob had been following a few paces behind them still grumbling about Kaito holding his external hostage, when he had stopped cold on the sidewalk as the color drained out of him causing Hakuba to run into his back. Without a word, he had shoved the two down the closest alley and hidden to search the streets for the two agents Kudo had described to him from the safety of the narrow alley._

"I've almost got it," Kaito whispered back in argument from the bottom of the small huddle of the two detectives around him shielding him from view while he worked the car's lock. "There," he said proudly, standing back up from his crouch and tucking his hand back up the sleeve of his jacket to open the door without leaving prints.

"Just close the door and lets get out'a here," Heiji begged, keeping his eyes on the shop fronts, not daring to drop his guard to look in the car. He really tried to ignore the glove Hakuba passed the thief while he put on the other as the two bent and fought for space in the door opening to sift through Gin's glove box and under the seat.

"We can't just pass up this opportunity," Kaito argued back, shutting the glove box when all he found were old maps and a few cartons of cigarettes.

"I agree," Hakuba muttered, looking over the flashlight he pulled from under the seat. "We've caught them off guard here. We shouldn't pass up the opportunity to learn something." He frowned at the odd sound when he shook the flashlight. Using his own jacket sleeve to cover his gloveless hand, he unscrewed the flashlight head and frowned at the silencer that slid out into his waiting hand.

"Besides," Kaito whispered back with a sneaky grin, "We always have this."

Heiji stared in dull shock at the small round white sticker he pulled out of pocket. "Is that…"

"Where should we stick this?" the thief asked Hakuba, ignoring the Kansai detective with a sly grin.

"A tracer?" Hakuba asked looking over the small device and back up to the thief.

"One of Kudo's," he replied with a grin.

"Give it to me," the blonde detective ordered with a wide conspiratorial grin, holding out a finger to the thief. Kneeling on his knees on the sidewalk, he reached an arm under the driver's seat, reaching up under the leather seat. "I'm just going to tuck it in to the upholstery hem," he muttered reaching around iron springs to the far side of the seat and wedging the sticker between the outer-facing upholstery and the upturned half inch of material above the hem stitch line, forcing the tracer deep with the nail of his finger.

"Good thinking," Kaito whispered with a giddy grin.

"Playtime's over," Heiji hissed, spotting a pair of dark clothed men leaving an expensive cigar and tobacco shop across the street. He roughly grabbed the two by the back of their jackets and yanked them back onto the sidewalk, dropping them to fall on the concrete and bending forward to push down the door lock with his jacketed elbow. He slammed the door shut with his knee and pulled Kaito up roughly to his knees. "Hide!" he ordered, shoving the downed thief into the alley by a rough grip on the back of his jacket and pants, using the car between them and the approaching agents for cover. "Hurry! Don't let 'em see ya!" he hissed frantically.

"What's the big ide-…"

"Ya look like Kudo!" Heiji hissed in a fear-tight voice. He had just enough time to assume a bored expression, despite the fact that he was verily shaking, before the blonde agent walked around the car to open his door. He was grateful that Hakuba at least had the sense to pull his shoelace loose so his position was less suspicious.

Gin stopped and glared at the teenager tying his shoe in front of the driver door and the other teen standing next to him. "Out of the way, you brats!" he growled. "What are you doing hanging around my car?"

"A-Ah… Just admiring," Heiji answered placatingly with raised hands in a calming motion. "I-It's a real classic!"

"Brats like you aren't capable of appreciating a car like this. Get lost!" he growled flicking his cigarette at Hakuba's feet, narrowly missing sending the lit end across the side of the blonde's face. He grinned in malicious self-amusement when Hakuba flinched, bringing up a quick hand to brush at his cheek, the hot cigarette having passed close enough to almost feel as though he'd been burned and stumbled to his feet, having the temerity to glare back at the grinning agent.

"Aniki, we don't have time to play," the shaded man on the passenger side of the car said over the car roof. "We'll be late for the rendezvous."

"Hmph. Stay away from my car!" he ordered to the two teens, the blonde one glaring at him in anger and the other dark-skinned one holding onto the blonde's sleeve and watching him in fear. He held his gaze on them a moment longer but neither boy dropped their stare-lock, not even the scared boy. He opened the door and stooped to climb in.

"It's a 'type one.' A '57 356A coupe but you're front bumper is wrong. That's the bumper of the 1957 speedster. I take it you're still restoring it," Hakuba said boldly, holding a cold steely glare-lock with the visibly surprised agent… if a singular cocked eyebrow denoted surprise.

"…Never mind. I guess you can," the tall man replied with a feral approving grin, pulling the door closed and turning the engine. The two stayed frozen on the sidewalk, Hakuba glaring after the car and Heiji trying to bring his pulse back under control.

"Why the heck did ya do _that?_!" Heiji exclaimed, letting go of Hakuba's sleeve with a rough shove. "Do ya always have ta win_?_! Now he's gonna remember you!"

"I really don't think there's much they can do to the son of the police commissioner of all of Tokyo," Kaito murmured placatingly, leaving the sanctity of his alley now that the Porsche was a distant speck. "It would be too high profile. They wouldn't dare."

Heiji held his angry glare on Hakuba. "…you two have no idea what they dare," he muttered, pushing past Hakuba with a last shove, leaving the two to stare at each other askance.

Kaito gave Hakuba a shrug and started after the Kansai detective. "Maybe you shouldn't have antagonized that Gin guy. They know these organization guys better than us," he mused as he passed the blonde to follow after Heiji feeling much more subdued than when they had started that morning.

Hakuba watched their backs moving away from him and finally moved to follow. "They _can't_ do anything to me," he whispered mostly to himself, shoving his hands in his pockets for warmth in the brisk chilled air with a light sulk.

* * *

Conan sat stiffly on the back seat with his clasped hands between his knees. And cuffless or not, he had never felt more like he was under arrest than he did right now. While Takagi kept sending him the odd worried look in the rearview, Sato wouldn't even look at him. Her face was stoney and impassive, but her white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel gave him a hint on her likely mood. "Aah… Sato… -keiji?" Her eyes flashed to meet his in the rearview mirror.

"Don't. Conan-kun." Her eyes left his to focus back on the road. "I don't want to hear a single excuse. We are not dropping you off anywhere. And Ran-chan is not going to cover for you anymore." Conan winced at the jerk the car made as she aggressively cut someone off, changing lanes and ignoring the blare of horns behind her.

"Umm…Sato-…"

"You either, Takagi-kun," she muttered, glaring him back into silence and turning her anger back on the boy on her back seat. "Just how long have you known about these people? How long have you been keeping **secrets** from us? **Just what did you think you were doing**_**?**_**!**" she demanded in an ever volume increasing rise. "**You…You… Argh!**" She punched a frustrated fist into the center of her steering wheel, oblivious of the glares she received from neighboring cars at her sudden horn blare.

Conan kept silent staring somewhere around his knees. And while he didn't dare look up to check, from the awkward silence at the front of the car, Takagi seemed to be in the same boat. His handhold switched to grabbing hold of the edge of the seat in front of him as Sato accelerated up the onramp to the freeway.

"When we get back to the apartment you are going to answer **every** single question we have and then I'll decide whether or not to arrest you," Sato growled over gritted teeth.

Conan's head shot up in obstinate protest. "You can't arrest me_?_! On what grounds_?_!"

"S-Sato-san? Maybe that's going a little too far," Takagi voiced hesitantly, turning sideways in his seat to speak to her directly while keeping a cautious eye on the boy glaring holes at Sato in the backseat. "I'm sure Conan-kun had a reas…" He was rudely jammed into his seat-side shoulder when the car punched forward with a sharp jerk and squeal of tires, Conan was thrown back against the backseat by the sudden acceleration of the sports car.

"Sato-san! What are you doing_?_!" Takagi fretted scrambling to hold onto something.

"Takagi-kun! It's **that** car!" Sato cried in a tight adrenalin-choked voice. She hunched over the wheel squeezing it in a white-knuckled grip. Takagi looked up to the blue and white striped muscle car six lengths ahead of them. "No one shoots at **our** car and gets away with it," she muttered under her breath. She swerved into the passing the lane ignoring the angry blare of the eighteen-wheeler she cut off. Conan fought the increased g-force to stand on his knees on his seat and search the road from between the two detectives.

Takagi reached his hand for the siren. "Don't turn it on until we're close!" Sato hissed through gritted teeth. "They are **not** getting away from** me**!" She took another aggressive lane-switch, sending Conan tumbling all over again. This time he couldn't stop the stream of cursing from his protesting body, lost amid the squeal of tires.

"Got it," Takagi gulped, flinching his hand back.

Conan picked himself up from his tangled tumble on the back seat and scrambled back to his vantage point between the two detectives, searching the road in confusion for what had attracted Sato's attention… and temper. "Takagi-keiji, wha…"

"Ah, Conan-kun, you should sit down and put your seatbelt on," Takagi muttered with a nervous sideways glance at Sato. He hushed at the glare Sato sent him.

"We're chasing down the bastards that shot our tires out while I was doing 120 on the damn freeway!" Sato nearly shouted swerving to the middle lane amid honking horns, two cars closer. Beside her, Conan's eyes went wide, staring at her in horror for the tiniest of moments that felt like an eternity. His gaze flew forward, searching out the Dodge Viper almost directly ahead of them while the color drained from him.

"But Sato-san, _I_ was driving," Takagi felt the need to add. He was answered with a stab of acceleration. "Sato-san? They're going to notice us following them even without the siren," Takagi cautioned.

"**Who cares!**" She growled back.

Takagi turned his head at a slight movement from the corner of his eye to see Conan's hand, fisted and shaking, holding on to the edge of his car seat. His eyes traveled up and stared at the frozen terrified gaze of the child on the car they were closing in on.

"**Sato-keiji! Stop!**" he screamed, "**Don't chase that car!**" His eyes were frozen on the bob-haired silhouette of the Viper's driver.

Momentarily startled, Sato's foot left the accelerator. She leveled a quick gaze at Conan in the rear view mirror that became sharply hawk-like at his pale terror. She held her stare for a moment before shifting her attention back to her quarry. "Takagi-kun, get ready to turn on the siren on my mark." She slammed the accelerator.

"**NO! Break off! Please!**" Conan cried, begged, grabbing onto Sato's sleeve desperately. His eyes stayed glued on Chianti searching for any tell that she had spotted them, praying that he wouldn't see one.

"Why, Conan-kun? Why should I?" she asked in a determined level voice. Her eyes sought out Conan's in the mirror. Takagi silently watched the exchange with a dawning expression of understanding. Sato's sports car was nearly two lengths from their target. They both watched the face of the fearless child they knew so well twist from trapped terror, to resignation, to fierce determination.

His eyes finally met Sato's in the mirror. "You don't know who you're dealing with! You will both die!" The car swerved violently into the shoulder lane and suddenly braked, knocking Conan off balance and into the passenger door, landing hard in the foot space behind Takagi's seat.

Takagi winced and rubbed his door-side shoulder. "C-Conan-kun…are you all right?" He twisted in his seat at the ensuing silence to see the boy lying motionless on the floor.

Reaching around awkwardly, Takagi reached down to pick him up from the tight ball he was in. His eyes went wide feeling the extra padding under the injured child's clothes. He set Conan on the back seat gently, the boy barely conscious of the fact that he'd been moved, and hooked a finger on the cuff of one of Conan's wrists and pulled back exposing the mess of white bandages gloving his fingers and palm, disappearing under his jacket. Next to him, Sato grabbed his shoulder squeezing tightly. He let go of Conan's jacket to turn to her, her eyes locked on his and flashing from astonishment to fear and finally a pure smoldering anger.

Oblivious of the detective's inspection and scrutiny, Conan hissed in pain, hugging his arms tightly around his ribs, waiting for the throbbing to dull. He froze, pain forgotten, at the sound of the police regulation locks bolting the back doors of Sato's car. Her _squad_ car. He stared up at Takagi's concerned gaze and Sato's furious one from his curled position on the back seat.

"**Everything! Now!**" Sato demanded.

* * *

Ran clutched her school satchel against her chest giving a paranoid look over her shoulder again. The entire way from her house, she had been waiting, just waiting for one of her long time neighbors or the grocers of the market street to comment on why she was walking the opposite direction of school that morning and now that the crowd of students had thinned to empty streets she stood out all the more. She was grateful that Beika's second street was nothing but pure residential. Her only worries now were if a squad car noticed her. She had no doubt she would absolutely die of embarrassment if she were driven to school in the back of police car under truancy charges. Skipping school was a new experience and surprisingly one of the few rules she _hadn't_ broken in her childhood list of principal office visits, all courtesy of a certain absent detective. She was glad when she finally turned the corner of the solid white walls of the professor's modern mansion and knocked on the door.

"I'm so sorry for calling on you this ear-…" Ran dropped her eyes in surprise to the small girl holding the door open, a girl looking just as surprised to see her. "Ai-chan! You didn't go to school today_?_!" she asked looking at the young girl who certainly looked fully dressed for class.

Ai stared back, over her own astonishment and studying Ran's uniform. "Neither are you," she replied smoothly.

"A-Aah, yes… Yes, I guess so," Ran answered with an embarrassed blush, fidgeting with the toe of her shoe under the silent observation of Ai's cool passé expression. They stood awkwardly, facing each other down.

Ai sighed and stood aside with a sardonic grin. "I won't ask if you don't," she said lightly, waiting for Ran to enter. Ran smiled catching the young girl's conspiratorial expression. "It's still early," Ai continued conversationally, "I was in the middle of brewing some coffee. Would you care for a cup?"

"That sounds wonderful," Ran smiled, "Thank you, Ai-chan."

Ai walked towards the kitchen, leaving Ran in the living room. "If you're looking for the professor, he's in the restroom, you can wait for him over there," she said motioning to the couch near Agasa's computer and disappeared around a counter.

Ran watched a blonde head of hair bob around the kitchen counters and drag a barstool behind the counters. She smiled knowing from her own experience the likely stubborn attitude she would meet if she offered to help.

"Aah! Ran-kun! How nice to see you!"

Ran jumped slightly. She hadn't heard the professor enter the room. "Agasa-hakase! You surprised me!" she exclaimed, whirling to face the elderly man.

"Oh. So sorry," he replied sitting back down at his computer. "Is Teitan High having a teacher work day too? Maybe you'd like to join us. There's a physics symposium today at the university."

Ran's eyes went wide, sneaking a glance to the girl standing on a stool pulling coffee cups from a counter giving a sharp glance their way at the professor's words, waving her arms to catch her attention and putting a quick finger to her lips in a frantic shushing motion. Ran hid a grin behind a hand and nodded her understanding with an answering wink at Ai's 'cute' behavior. "Yes, we are," she replied, borrowing Ai's excuse and very glad she hadn't had to think one up for herself. "Um… Actually, I came to ask a favor from you. If you have time," she asked hesitantly.

"Of course, Ran-kun. I'm always glad to help," he replied turning his desk chair to face her. "What do you need?"

"Is it true Shinichi sometimes asks you to look up criminals? Like suspects for his cases?" Ran asked pensively in a lowered voice, worrying at the handle of her satchel.

"Yes, I have helped him on his investigations on occasion," he laughed loudly, taking little notice of Ran's intention of keeping the conversation private. "I've learned my way around everything from private internet forums to Interpol thanks to that scamp," he boasted. He blinked, finally taking notice of her antsy behavior. "Is there some reason you're asking me Ran-kun? You aren't in any trouble, are you? Do I need to contact Shinichi?"

"No! No, I mean. I'm not in trouble or anything, I don't think. It's nothing to do with him so please don't say anything," she blurted out in a rush, flushing at the thought of an over-worried Agasa informing Shinichi she was looking into criminals. "Um… the thing is… I think, maybe, Conan-kun is the one in trouble," she said softly.

Agasa looked at her sharply, sneaking a glance at Ai still busy in the kitchen to see if she'd overheard. He bent a little closer to Ran in undivided attention. "Sh- Ah… Conan-kun's in trouble you say? I thought Hattori-kun was taking care of him," he exclaimed in slightly overacted astonishment.

"He is," Ran replied quickly. "I'm sure Hattori-kun is looking after him just fine. It's just… Conan-kun has been having so much trouble sleeping and I think someone may have threatened him," she explained quietly with a stray glance of her own Ai's way. She certainly felt no need to frighten one of Conan's friends with her nagging worry.

Agasa's eyes turned serious the moment she mentioned the boy was under threat. "You think he's been threatened_?_! What makes you think that, Ran-kun?" he asked, making sure to keep his voice just as quiet.

"Well, besides the nightmares, when he was sick he kept repeating someone's name. Two names actually. He said another one earlier but I couldn't really understand. It was an English word so I might be wrong about it being a name," she answered, unbuckling her satchel as she spoke. "I wrote them down," she muttered as she fished in her open school bag for her notebook.

"Of course, Ran-kun. I'd be more than happy to help you get to the bottom of things if someone is trying to hurt Conan-kun," he told her vehemently. This was the first time he had heard anything about Shinichi being under threat and if his young neighbor or the Hattori boy had been keeping such a serious secret from him… well it may just be time for another long phone call to the shrunken child's parents.

"Thank you so much Agasa-hakase. I hope I'm just overreacting but I think I'll feel better once I know for sure," she answered hesitantly, checking her notebook for the suspect names. "Can you find out if there's a criminal or suspect named Jin that Cona…"

CRASH

Ran looked up sharply to where a shocked Ai had just dropped and broken two mugs of coffee across the tiled floor. "W-Where…that name…"

"Ai-chan, are you okay?" Ran started for the kitchen to find something to clean the mess. She was halted by a desperate Ai grabbing onto her arm as she passed.

"**WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT NAME**_**?**_**!**" she all but screamed in a panic.

* * *

"Are you… okay Conan-kun?" Takagi asked hesitantly of the child frozen on the backseat. "Your hand is covered in banda…" He stopped short feeling Sato's restraining hand on his arm.

"Jacket off!" Sato ordered sharply. Conan gave a defeated sigh and unzipped Kaito's jacket, keeping his line of vision somewhere around his knees, dumping the jacket to the floor of the car under his legs, his shoulders tensing hearing Takagi's sharp intake of breath when his mummified arms and hands were exposed. He flinched involuntarily when Sato yanked the knit cap off his head and he couldn't quite help the hiss of pain the move pulled from his stitched forehead.

"Conan-kun?"

Conan looked up reluctantly at Takagi's gentle prodding into the detective's concerned expression and Sato's calculating one. "Are those injuries burns?" Sato asked quietly. Conan stared at her, absorbing her shrewd assessment of his injuries. Conan heaved a heavy sigh and nodded.

"Burns… Sato-san?" Takagi asked confusedly.

"He was involved in the fire three days ago, weren't you Conan-kun?" she asked quite confident of her deduction. Again, Conan nodded miserably, avoiding Takagi's aghast expression. "You know all about these people don't you Conan-kun?" Sato continued, "Who are they? Why didn't you want me to stop that car? We have every right to arrest that driver under suspicion of attacking us during the mahjong case. Why did you say we would die?" she demanded of the small child on her backseat trying to shrink into himself with each of her questions. "I said start talking!" she ordered fiercely. "**Who are these people!**"

"… … …they're called the Black Organization," Conan finally muttered, "that car you were following was two of their top agents, assassins named Chianti and Korn."

"Assassins?" Sato repeated skeptically.

"They're ruthless," Conan warned holding Sato's gaze with a steely one of his own, recovering quickly from Sato's intimidation. "If they find out the two of you have been investigating them, they _will_ kill you. Your mother is still alive," he said glaring Sato down, "Yours too, right Takagi-keiji?" Takagi gulped and quietly nodded when he came under Conan's fierce sharp-eyed gaze, any childish pretense of cuteness glaringly absent, a resigned look he hadn't seen on the child since their stint on the Touto Tower elevator. "If you get caught, you'll be endangering them as well."

Sato raised an eyebrow at this new Conan glaring back at her with a deep weariness draped across his shoulders, meeting her own gaze with a sage wisdom. "If these people are so dangerous, why would Mouri-san let you near this investi-…"

"**They don't know!**" Conan pounced forward, cutting her off with a wide-eyed alarmed expression. "They can _not_ know **anything** about this!" Conan pressed, leaning forward in his seat anxiously.

"Alright Conan-kun. If that's the way you want to play things," Sato replied climbing on her knees to lean over the top of her seat and see him properly, a sharp grin of pure satisfaction pulling at the corners of her mouth now that Conan had handed her the perfect bargaining chip. "Who was that man in the tower? The one impersonating Matsumoto-keishi?" she asked.

Conan eyed her sharply, taking in her delighted cat-that-ate-the-canary expression hesitating just long enough to fully absorb her likely thought process. "One of their agents named Irish," he answered crossing his arms over his chest lightly, taking care with his healing burns, and shifting his glare toward the window in a light pout realizing he was now at Sato's mercy. He tensed, waiting for the barrage to begin.

"What did he take when he was speaking with you at Café La Tour? What were they even _doing here?_!" Sato demanded now that she had the boy cornered. "Why should they even care about some serial killer_?_!" Conan shrank back as Sato leaned closer over the top of her car seat intent on shaking answers from him.

"A-Ah Conan-kun! We don't mean to frighten you, we're not angry with you," Takagi broke in placing a calming hand on Sato's shoulder and tugging her back from the boy, intentionally ignoring the glare she sent him. "What good is scaring him going to do?" he told her softly. Sato pulled back in an aggravated huff, sliding back down her side of the seat until her knees hit leather.

"I'm not a little kid," Conan muttered under his breath building himself back up and staring down each of the detectives in turn, "And I don't really care if you're angry with me." He turned his now cool collected glare on Sato. "You have no idea what you've done getting involved in this."

"I'm not backing down from this, Conan-kun," Sato replied evenly. "I won't just stand by and let these people take over this city. We're the adults here, Conan-kun. You need to tell us what you know and leave this investigation to us. We'll be fine."

"No, you won't," Conan answered darkly. He gave a heavy sigh and took a cautious look out the window to the passing cars ignoring the red sports car on the side of the road with its emergency lights flashing. "The organization got involved because one of their members was killed during the mahjong case."

"Umm… it's _two_ actually," Takagi spoke up hesitantly after Conan's cold glare at them. Conan perked his head up looking at Takagi with focused inquisitiveness. "We've discovered that Shindou Sumire-san and Okakura Maasaki-san were sharing intelligence about this 'Black Organization,' they were building an evidence cashe," he found himself explaining to the child almost out of habit. Conan's eyes widened absorbing the new information.

"Which one of them had an omamori taken?" Conan asked, bringing a hand up to hold his chin.

"Okakura Maasaki-san," Takagi answered falling into his usual habit of answering Conan's questions.

"He must have been in a very trusted position," Conan mused lowering his voice conspiratorially, "He was able to smuggle out a copy of the organization's NOC list," he finished in a whisper causing Sato and Takagi to lean forward.

"He got his hands on what_?_!" Sato fairly squeaked. "We could have cracked this whole thing in one shot with that!"

"That's why they tried so hard to reach Shindou-san before us that day," Takagi reasoned, exchanging a tense look with his partner.

"The two of you found that evidence cashe, right? What's in it?" Conan asked, dropping his hand to lean forward in anticipation.

"Oh, we found these folders of…"

"Hold on, Takagi-kun," Sato interrupted placing a restraining hand on Takagi's shoulder. "Conan-kun, all of this is case sensitive information and I'm sorry, but after what you've been keeping from us I honestly can't be sure if we can trust you yet," she said firmly. Conan leveled a rebellious glare at her for blocking his information flow. "We'll decide what we're going to let you in on later. For now, we're going to be placing you in protective custo-"

"You can't!" Conan protested loudly, his voice edging on a childish whine.

"…Protective custody," Sato repeated overriding his protests, "for your own good until the identities of the minors involved in the tower disaster are released. Please understand Conan-kun, we just want you kept safe until we're certain these people aren't going to try to find you."

"You can't do this! I have things I have to do!" Conan argued clinging to the passenger door scrambling to find… a window button, anything to let him out of the vehicle.

"Things you have to… Do you understand what kind of trouble you're in_?_! _You_ are the one who brought down that helicopter! _You_ are the one they want!" Sato couldn't quite help her voice from rising at the child's stubbornness.

"No, _you_ don't get it! _You_ are the ones in trouble in here!" Conan leveled a sharp glare at Sato. "One of their agents already knows what you've been investigating. It's only a matter of time before you're discovered."

"What are you talking about? How could you possibly know that?"

"I have a… contact. Look, that doesn't really matter. What matters is that you believe me that you both could be in danger if you're not careful," Conan insisted switching his gaze between the two detectives until they understood his seriousness.

"Are you sure?" Takagi asked quietly, observing the boy's tense stillness. Conan nodded carefully lifting a hand to rub at the junction of his neck and shoulder, the tumbles from Sato's driving beginning to make themselves known on his abused muscles. At the boy's affirmation he exchanged a tense look of worry with Sato. Sato heaved a heavy sigh of her own reading her partner's absolute trust in the small child's words.

"Then what do you propose we do, Conan-kun?" Sato asked in all seriousness. "If these people are as ruthless as you say we can't possibly leave you or Ran-chan unprotected when the records are unsealed." She watched the child on her backseat fold in on himself, wrapping bandaged arms around himself.

"…I know," Conan finally whispered staring down at his knees. His eyes raced back and forth as he considered his options.

"Sato-san, we're running out of time," Takagi whispered, wary of breaking the somber mood in the car. "Our shift starts in twenty minutes."

"There's someone… some people you two should meet," Conan spoke up suddenly. "If you're really sure you want to keep investigating the organization," he continued locking eyes with Sato. "I know I can't make you quit investigating if you're really sure you want to go down this path. You're not the only ones who know about these people and who are investigating them. If you're really sure, I can bring the two of you into their investigation."

"Just who do you know that's found out about these people_?_!" Sato exclaimed with a disgusted sigh of disbelief. "Does everyone know about this organization except the police_?_!"

"A-Ah… people I know through Kogoro-jisan," Conan fibbed waving her temper off with both hands.

"Fine! What do we need to do!" Sato demanded.

"Ahh… Sato-san?" Takagi piped up, catching her sleeve in uncertainty.

"Shush, Takagi-kun," she snapped, her focus solely on Conan. "Are these people we can trust?" she asked sharply.

"Yes," Conan answered, meeting her sharp gaze evenly. "If you want in, meet at the Haido City Hotel, room 258. It's where I was heading when you two stopped me. I can let them know you want to join the investigation."

"You're already assuming we're just going to let you go," Sato returned with a touch of a smirk pulling at her lips.

"You will. You're too curious to see how far this other group has gone in their investigation," Conan shot back with a confident knowing smirk of his own.

"We put down our cards and you'll put down yours, huh?" Sato couldn't help grinning back at the shrewd smirk on Conan's face, his eyes practically sparkling with the satisfaction that he knew he had her convinced already. "Alright, Conan-kun. We'll try things your way. Room 258, right? We'll meet with these people of yours when we get off at four."

"We will?" Takagi asked in a glum voice already knowing that once Sato had made up her mind there would be no changing it. Sato reached over and pinched his arm, rolling her eyes when he yanked it back.

"Once we see what your friends have to offer, we'll decide whether or not we're going to share," Sato continued, ignoring her partner's rubbing of his wounded arm. "I still want to know _how_ exactly you and Hattori-kun got involved in all this. And we still need to take you and Ran-chan into protective custody. Kudo-kun too if only we could get hold of him."

"I'll consider it after you meet with these people," Conan replied with a shark-like grin now that Sato was bending his way.

"Oh, you'll consider it will you," Sato replied with amusement and raised eyebrows. "You're still not off the hook, Conan-kun, don't think that you are," she said shaking an austere finger at him in spite of her creeping smile at his sheer gall. "All right, I think we have just enough time to drop you off at the hotel and still get to work on time," she mused checking her watch. "Lets get going, Takagi-kun."

"A-Ah…o… kay," Takagi stuttered turning to face forward and giving the grinning child on their backseat a final lingering look. He toyed with the idea of mentioning to Sato that she had just been out negotiated and had played expertly into the hands of the child sitting happily with crossed arms and swinging legs. But the boy had mentioned several things that gave him reason to be alarmed. And one of the few things he knew for certain was, little Conan was rarely wrong. If they truly were under someone's suspicion, he'd much rather face it with a Sato with her temper firmly out of the equation.

* * *

"I still think you two shouldn't have messed with that car," Heiji hissed as they made their way down the hall towards the FBI's suite.

"Would you stop worrying about it_?_! It's done. We can't change anything now," Hakuba hissed back. "How does Ku-Conan-kun stand you being such a nag_?_!"

"Umm… we're about to enter a room full of armed FBI agents. Do you think the two of you could act your age for the next few hours?" Kaito grumbled from behind the two detectives.

"That's the last thing I want to hear from _you_, Kuroba!" Hakuba shot back.

"Yeah, yeah," Heiji muttered, pulling ahead of the group as they approached their target door. "Truce, okay?" he growled leveling a final glare Hakuba's way.

"Fine," Hakuba sniped back, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Boor!" he muttered under his breath as Heiji knocked on the door.

"Ass!" Heiji returned in a low hiss. Kaito bit back an odd snort that could have been a laugh just as the door was opening, biting his lip to keep his amusement mostly contained.

"Hattori-kun! Kuroba-kun! I'm glad you made it," Jodie smiled in the doorway looking over their small group. "Where's Conan-kun?"

"He was… detained," Kaito muttered hesitantly. "It was kind of my fault. But we brought copies of the hard drive," he deflected handing her the small stack of jewel cases.

"Oh, good," she said, happily accepting the discs from Kaito. "This is the overseas team we've got working on this case," she continued with a wave of her arm for the loose group of men and women wearing shoulder holsters manning computers and sound equipment at every table-like surface the room had to offer. The group stared around the room of twenty or so people in the large suite, a couple of which raised an arm in greeting to the three teens before returning to their business. "The rest of our group is back stateside until we find a new lead," she finished leading them to the suite's dining room and ushering them to the large table. A sharp look had the few agents working through reports at the table packing up their notebooks and finding some new corner to work in elsewhere. An older man came dashing from one of the back rooms to follow them in, pulling the heavy double doors closed behind him.

"Black-san?" Kaito said experimentally in greeting of the white-haired gentleman reaching a hand out to shake each of theirs in turn.

"Please, James is fine," he said graciously gesturing for the three boys to take their seats. "Conan-kun couldn't make it?"

"Nah, Ku-ahh-Conan-kun is _busy_ talking ta a couple of detectives," Heiji replied biting back a grin at the trouble the little brat was probably in as he moved to the other side of the table, the side that was Hakuba-free. "They're involved in this business too so he'll probably try to get them ta come here. Just letting ya know in advance, James-han."

James exchanged a confused look with Jodie over their heads. "Is he…?"

"This is Hattori Heiji-kun," Jodie supplied, a hand coming to her mouth to hide her grin. "He's a detective friend of Conan-kun's from Osaka."

"Goodness, for a moment I was wondering if we were going to need to hire a translator. I didn't realize the Japanese language was so varied."

Across the table Kaito gave an odd snort trying desperately to smother his laughter, an attempt that died miserably the second he caught sight of Heiji's arrested expression, a strange twist of outrage and pout. "HA! Ha Ha Ha Ha!" He bent over the top of the chair in front of him to pound the table with one hand while pointing at the pissed detective with the other. Hakuba didn't even try to hide his own snide laughter.

"Have I said something strange?" James asked worriedly to Jodie across the table from him.

"I had a bit of trouble with the accent myself, but I do believe it's a bit of a sore point," she replied with an apologetic smile Heiji's way. Across the table, Hakuba had managed to sit himself but Kaito was still curled over his chair, laughter coming in tight desperate gasps as he struggled to breathe.

"Ya done yet?" Heiji muttered in an aggravated voice leaning his head on a fist and glaring at the wall somewhere over the doors.

"…no!" Kaito squeaked from somewhere under his curl.

"I apologize if I've said something rude," James said in as placating a voice as he could watching the three's antics.

"You needn't apologize for speaking truth," Hakuba answered lacing his fingers and leaning his chin on them, grinning like a fiend. Heiji shifted his glare to the blonde. "Sit down already, Kuroba." Kaito lifted his head, full red in the face and sat down still fighting bursts of the giggles every time he looked Heiji's way.

"And who might you be, young man?" James asked, focusing on Hakuba sitting past the giggling phantom thief. "Are you Japanese as well?" he asked focusing on the teen's sandy hair.

"'My name is Saguru Hakuba. I'm also a detective and a friend of Conan's. We've worked a couple of cases together'," he answered politely in impeccable English, favoring his western grammar. "'My mother is British, so, half Japanese to answer your question'," he finished tugging on a lock of his fair hair.

"'Hakuba? You wouldn't happen to have any relation with the commissioner of Tokyo's police department? I believe he has the same family name'," James asked, taking a seat at the head of the table.

"My father," Hakuba answered, slipping back to Japanese. James raised an eyebrow at the admission shifting his gaze back to Heiji who was still glaring with a half bored expression at Kaito, a few giggles still escaping him while he tried to bring his breathing back under control.

"I must say, the name Hattori also sounds familiar to me," he confessed, waiting for Heiji to shift his attention back to him.

"My dad's in charge of the police force in Osaka," he replied, forcing his glare off the thief in an irritated huff.

James gave the three an assessing once over before he spoke again. "I didn't realize Conan-kun had such powerful contacts," he said exchanging an impressed look with Jodie taking her own seat at the foot of the table.

"One of these days, we'll learn to stop being surprised by that boy," she replied with a warm smile to the gathered friends of the small child.

James exchanged a quick nod with his agent and cleared his throat, setting his clasped hands on the table once he had the attention of the three teenagers. "So, I hear you boys have brought us what we discussed yesterday?" he asked, drawing his focus on Kaito.

"We burned everything on the drive this morning," he answered with an affirming nod.

"What can you tell me about what we're dealing with as far as this hard drive is concerned?" the FBI head asked, giving Jodie a firm nod over their heads. At the far end of the table Jodie stood quickly and dug through one of the open boxes lining the back of the room.

"Whatever applications are being used on those discs, they run Linux," Hakuba spoke up, seeing Jodie pulling a laptop wrapped in green plastic sheeting from one of the boxes. Jodie gave him a nod and replaced the computer stepping up to a new box for searching.

"We have no idea what's in those files," Kaito piped up, answering James' question. "These guys were too uptight to look at anything," he finished giving the two detectives an aggravated half glare for side-railing his curiosity.

"We were _trying_ to preserve the chain of evidence!"

"It's 'cause of chain of evidence!"

Kaito rolled his eyes at the two detectives, who were now exchanging glares with each other for stepping on each other's toes.

"Then the drive is in fairly pristine condition?" James asked with another gruff clearing of his throat to break the two detectives glare-lock.

"Not quite," Hakuba answered with a mild sigh that was trying hard not to be one of exasperation. "The drive was locked but we managed to find the admin password. Each folder was also encrypted so we broke the encryption with the use of a forensics decryptor. Aside from that, none of the files have been opened and I logged everything we did to the drive," he replied in all seriousness. "At that point, I advised the others to stop until we could get the drive into formal evidence custody."

"Thank you, our computer forensics team will appreciate that you've left the crucial files as unmodified as possible," James replied with a nod of thanks for the wise move.

"All right, I've found a computer we can use," Jodie said pulling up to the table next to Heiji and setting down an open laptop still in the middle of booting up for them all to see. "Let's see what you boys have brought us." She opened one of the jewel cases and pulled out the burned disc labeled 'disc one,' slipping it into the laptop's disc drive. The five in the room pressed close around the computer, James giving a broad smile watching Jodie open the disc looking at a list of folders. "Which do you want to try first?" Jodie asked with an almost giddy grin of her own at the thought of their first peek at an organization information trove.

"I'll leave the honor to you," James replied to his agent. Jodie wasted no time opening the folder marked 'Payroll' and scrolling down the list of spreadsheets, considering her options.

"Will someone open something already_!_?" Kaito whined, half standing out of his chair to see over Hakuba's head. Jodie bit her lip and opened the topmost file. The screen was filled with white as the application opened across the screen and a slight shuffling as a multitude of tabs opened. They looked over the columns of figures, configured biweekly, and disappearing off the right edge of the screen.

"This is fantastic," Jodie mused, scrolling to the left most side of the screen where the first few columns were set as hidden, her fingers fairly itching to finally uncover a name roster for members of the shadowy organization.

Her hand flinched away from the laptop's touch pad. "Did the screen saver turn on?" she mumbled almost to herself staring at the screen. James and the three teenagers pressed close to study the screen. In the lower left corner of the screen, the lines of the spreadsheet's columns were twisting slowly in a tight spiral and suddenly the graphical display of the spreadsheet itself started cascading downward like a piece of burned paper crumbling to ash leaving a black empty screen in its wake. "What did I do? Did I do something?" Jodie asked confusedly, attacking the touch pad trying to find a cursor on the screen.

Behind her, Hakuba sighed and ran a tired hand through his hair and gave a low swear. "You may want to step back," he told her, pushing his seat back to pace the narrow corridor between the chairs and the wall. Jodie looked up in confusion but corrected her posture and pushed back her chair as advised. The moment her face was clear of her earlier lean over the table, the laptop sparked loudly leaving a black spike of burned wood on the table surface and a hiss of dark smoke followed, rising from the laptop's fan vent, leaving the four still gathered around the computer to flinch away.

"Shit! What was that_?_!" Kaito exclaimed reaching down the table to grab one of the folders the room's earlier occupants had left behind and fan the air before the smoke could set off the hotel's smoke alarm.

"Did the computer just break itself_?_!" Heiji asked, directing his question to the blonde detective at the far end of the table.

Hakuba picked up the three remaining discs Jodie had left on the table, pulling them from their jewel cases, and neatly broke the three discs in half. "These are worthless. If we try these on any more laptops we'll only turn them into more burnt out paperweights."

"Did the disc do this?" James asked, shaking himself from his shock.

"I believe Conan-kun warned us about this before," he said in a light reprimand to Heiji and Kaito each. "These will need to be disposed of, carefully," he said holding his hand out to Jodie to take the broken disc pieces. "Along with the disc still in there," he finished giving the ruined computer a pointed stare.

"Wait, that was Night Baron_?_!" Kaito exclaimed in disbelief.

"Do you mean the _computer virus_, Night Baron_?_!" Jodie asked in alarmed shock. "I thought that was only a myth, an urban legend!"

"Are you speaking about the legendary computer virus that's supposed to be unstoppable and can break through any anti-virus protection_?_!" James asked in mounting concern, leaning forward in his chair. "The FBI's cybercrime unit tells stories about that supposed virus but it's never been encountered before. You're telling us we just saw that virus in action_!_? And how does Conan-kun know anything about that_?_!"

Hakuba and Kaito exchanged questioning looks finally turning their unanimous gaze on Heiji. The Osakan gave a heavy sigh realizing they were leaving the explaining to him. "All organization data is guarded by the virus. I know Conan-kun's encountered it before on a hard disc. It triggered when he opened it on a non-organization computer. Killed one of Agasa-han's computers."

"Then… the only copy of their information we have that's usable is the original drive," Jodie concluded.

"It's in one of my towers. It's probably best it stay where it is, so you have my full permission to use my tower as you wish," Hakuba sighed, sitting back down.

"We have forms you'll need to fill out if you're going to formally surrender your computer," Jodie sighed, leaving the room to retrieve them.

"Nothing is ever simple when we deal with these people," James mused, giving the three disappointed boys an encouraging smile. "When we finish here, I'll have someone drive you home and you can pick up the computer then." He gave them all a gentile nod and followed Jodie out the room.

Kaito sighed and dropped his head to the table with a light 'thunk.' "Well _this_ was a colossal waste of time."

"Will you give me back my external _now_?" Hakuba grumped, dropping his head into his hand and staring at the far wall with a bored expression.

"No," Kaito replied out of pure tired spite.

* * *

Conan hopped down to the sidewalk with a thanking nod to Takagi holding the door open.

"Now don't forget, you're explaining everything to us when we finish our shift!" Sato reminded, leaning an elbow out the window.

"I'll meet you here in the lobby," Conan replied easily, checking his watch. He was running very late for his meeting with James and Jodie. He sighed, realizing Kuroba must have already been there for some time and it was very possible he had missed finding out what was on those computer discs. He stepped away from the car for Takagi to close the door and make his way around to the opposite side of the car. "I'll leave you two with one last piece of advice," he looked up to stare at the two detectives with a firm gaze. "If, for whatever reason, you encounter a classic black Porsche, a '57 356A, you back off and you call me. Immediately."

Sato stared at him hard, taking in the child's firm even stare with an appraising eye. "…okay, Conan-kun. We'll keep an eye out."

Conan gave her a final nod, accepting her word as binding, and pulled down the cap Kaito lent him self-consciously over his bandaged head, a little unsure of how good a job he had done redressing himself in the backseat of the car. He gave the hotel front a quick assessment in case there was any possible chance Chianti could have followed them there.

"Conan-kun, wait a second."

He turned back to the red sports car where Sato was still watching him.

Sato stared deeply into Conan's dark blue eyes, searching… she wasn't even sure what she was searching for. "Who are you, Conan-kun? Really?"

Takagi looked at his partner askance, reading the cool assurance in her posture and catching sight of the shrewd look in her eyes through the side view mirror. He swallowed hard realizing he had been mistaken in thinking Conan had pulled one over on her. She had that same cunning look in her eyes like when she was testing out a lead.

On the sidewalk, Conan stared right back at her, his face having gone oddly blank and yet sharp all at the same time. And in a moment, the look was gone. Conan gave them a bright cheerful wide-eyed grin. "Edogawa, Conan. Detective." With a last bright innocent smile, he turned and disappeared through the hotel's doors.

_**~9:56 am~**_

/

/

AN:

Happy Fourth of July 2012! I wanted to put this out for the fourth but it's a little belated. Oh well. Better late than never. I had a lot of fun at A-kon 2012 last month. Once again I was the only Kaitou Kid at the con but this year, a lot more people recognized Kid. (It really does erk me when people think I'm Tuxedo Mask) I even had doves this year. Well, fake ones anyway. So if any of you were in Dallas for A-kon and saw a Kaitou Kid running around, that was me. Spent way too much money and bought the only Detective Conan anything in the entire dealer's room. Four hours of waiting in line well spent. And I commissioned buttons for all the major Conan character's in artist alley and they came out really cute. My only complaint was that I put my monocle on too tight and my eye was sore for two weeks after the con. Anyway, it was lots of fun. Hopefully I'll be able to make Ushi-Con in Austin.

Episodes Referenced: 54 Game Company Murder Case, 96 Caught Up With the Great Detective! Two Murder Case, 128 The Black Organization 10 Hundred Million Yen Robbery Case, 129 The Girl from the Black Organization and the University Professor Murder Case, 176-178 Meeting With the Black Organization Again pt1-3, 253-254 Metropolitan Police Detective Love Story 4 pt1-2, 286-288 Kudo Shinichi's New York Case pt1-3, 401-402 The Caught Red-Handed Jewel Robber pt1-2, 504 Clash of Red and Black! Killed in the Line of Duty pt14, 469-470 Kaitou Kid and the Four Masterpieces pt1-2,

/

/

/


	13. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: not mine. Movie-verse & Anime-verse.

Summary: For Takagi-puppy and Sato-kitty. And also Akai, wherever you are, as this is Friday the 13th. This one's for you. This chapter is brought to you by the number 13 and the letters 'B' and 'O' and is a product of the Children's Television Workshop. (yeah, right.)

/

/

**Chapter 8**

/

**10:00 am**

/

"Good morning, Matsumoto-keishi. The usual?"

Matsumoto Kiyonaga gave the barista a pleasant nod and moved to the back of his favorite café seeking an empty booth to spend his brunch break and his only moment to relax during the workday. His regular brunch spot was the _only_ place his new shadows _didn't_ follow him and he had come to truly appreciate his hour of freedom. Oh, he was well sure he wasn't completely alone. Over the last few weeks he had come to recognize the same man sitting on a bench reading a newspaper out the café's window, the same elderly lady that came each day at the start of his break to feed the pigeons, people he had never seen before outside his favorite haunt until his abduction almost a month ago now. But none of them ever actually entered the café, a point he was becoming increasingly grateful for.

"Sir?"

"Oh, sorry Masako-san," he said kindly, breaking from his inner musing. He leaned back in his seat so the young girl could set down his cappuccino and newspaper. "How are your classes going?" he asked in fatherly care.

"Just fine, sir," she replied with the easy smile of a familiar subject. "I made an 'A' on my last term paper. Thank you so much for lending me those books. I have them behind the bar so don't forget to remind me to give them to you before you leave today."

"That's wonderful news Masako-san. I'm glad they helped," he grinned. "Have you applied yet?" he asked, taking a quick sip. Masako pulled a folded paper from her back pocket and held it out to him solemnly. Setting his cup down, he pulled a pair of slim wire-rimmed glasses from his breast pocket very seldom people besides his daughter knew about, not bothering to put them on properly but holding them to his eyes like a pair of opera glasses and opened the sheet of paper. "'To Hirasawa Masako, Regarding your application to Touto University College of Pre-law, we are happy to accept-.' You made it in?" he asked in surprise.

"On full scholarship!" she finished, fairly bouncing on her toes.

Matsumoto gave the young girl a wide smile. "Congratulations, Masako-san. I know how hard you've worked for this."

"Thank you, I just had to let you know," she gushed. "Um… this is actually my last day today. I'm going to be moving closer to the university so I'll be transferring to one of our stores in the district."

"Well I'll certainly miss your coffee. I don't know anyone who makes them half as well as you," the superintendent told her kindly. "I'll have to drop by your new store to check up on you."

Masako grinned stepping back from his table. "I'll go check on your plate, sir," she said with a happy smile, wandering back to the store counter.

Matsumoto watched her go with a smile while he reached for his coffee again and shifted his attention to the window, a reflex he'd honed over the last few weeks of constantly checking for those tailing him. His hand froze halfway to his mouth as he realized the usual faces were nowhere to be seen. He set his cup back down now actively searching out the window with a growing frown. While part of him felt he _should_ be happy to find the shadowy people who had infiltrated his life gone, a policeman's instinct deep down that years behind a desk had failed to quell was finding the situation strangely foreboding. A low rumble of an engine drew his attention to the window again and down the road outside, about half a block away, he saw two cars idling in the middle of the road facing opposite directions, windows down while the occupants of the two cars appeared to be speaking. A fineable offense in the middle of the moderately busy neighborhood, yet he stayed rooted in his seat in recognition, his breath hitched in his chest. One of the cars, a black German import, took off and he watched the blue sports cars turn into the alley across the street from the café.

The blue car was barely out of sight when a hail of screams started from the front of the café. He looked up to see two men in ski masks had burst in the door waving weapons at the cashier, customers and employees screaming and backing away in fear.

In the midst of a strange calm, almost surreally so, and despite the high intensity of the situation, Matsumoto frowned giving the armaments of the two criminals a once over. Even without the fact weapons were near impossible to come by in Japan for the average street criminal, Russian Silents were much too exotic for something as simple as a common robbery. With a last look to the alley where the blue car he'd seen so many times outside his mansion's windows hid, he pushed himself up from his seat approaching the crowd and walked slowly up to the men making demands and threats to those around them. As soon as his approach was noticed, he raised his hands in a calm clear sign of submission.

"What'dya want old man!" the burglar sneered pointing his gun in the superintendent's face.

Matsumoto couldn't help but notice the flash of recognition in the man's eyes, the only thing he could see with the mask in place. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a determined Masako reaching under the counter for the café's silent alarm. Swallowing hard, he stepped through the crowd of people too frightened to move until he stood in front of them all. "No one here wants to make trouble for you. I'm sure everyone will cooperate with whatever you demand. There's no need for more violence than necessary," he said, edging his way to the side until no one stood behind him. "I'm Matsumoto Kiyonaga. Alright? No one else needs to be hurt."

It seemed he had finally run out of time.

/

"**Fallout: Convergence"**

By: The Silversage

/

"WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT NAME_?_!"

"Ai…chan…?"

Ran froze in place watching the usually cool and calm Ai shaking in fear and fury, wild-eyed and standing stock still in a puddle of hot coffee and broken shards of ceramic porcelain. Behind her, it was Professor Agasa's sudden fist slam on his desk that startled her out of her stupor whirling around to see the man's staring at her with an unreadable expression where he'd jumped to his feet at his desk, and for the first time in her life, she felt eerily out of place in the house she had known since she was five. "Ai-chan?" She took a small step towards the overcome girl and stopped, frozen again when Ai backed up a step. Behind her the professor closed a firm hand over her own, holding her still.

"Ran-kun, where have you heard this name_?_! Does anyone know you've heard it!_?_" he asked in quiet urgency, pulling on her arm with a gentleness that belied the intensity in his voice and turning her to face him. She gave a last look at Ai, who had backed up far enough to place one of the professor's couches between them. "Ran-kun! This is important!"

"Umm… I think… Araide-sensei may have heard. It was back when Conan-kun was so sick that first night. He kept saying that name. Agasa-hakase, what's going on_?_!" she asked with the growing chill of terror creeping upon her that she couldn't pinpoint the reason for but creep over her it did. "What does this Jin person have to do with Conan-kun?"

"NO! No, you can't ask about this! You mustn't find out about this! Never ask about that name!" Ai begged, curling in on herself and wrapping her arms around herself. "Just walk away from this, _please_!"

"Ai-chan, you know who these people are too? Are they threatening you too?" Ran asked, cautiously approaching the tense jumpy girl. Lost in her own terrors, Ai didn't notice Ran's approach until she was being pulled into a tight embrace. "Ai-chan, if someone is bothering you and Conan-kun just tell me and we'll find a way to fix this," Ran whispered in gentle concern.

"You can't. **You can't!** There's nothing you can do!" Ai insisted, trying to worm her way out of Ran's tight hold, fighting the tears that had started to gather at the corners of her eyes, tears she hadn't shed since the first and last time she had attacked Kudo for failing her own older sister. And now, in her panicked mindset, events were repeating themselves all over again. Again Mouri Ran was trying to place herself between herself and the shadows of the organization reaching out for her like that night on the docks only a few months past.

Ran just pulled her embrace around the weakly struggling child tighter, having recently gotten quite good at holding down a struggling child what with Conan's rash of violent dreams and delirious fevers and just held Ai closer, running gentle fingers through her hair until she stopped her fearful quivering breaking down into sheer tears. Ran gave a worried sigh after it seemed Ai was calming down and she felt the light wetness on the bit of shirt her school blazer didn't cover on her chest, looking up over the small head of dirty-blonde hair to where a worried Agasa was standing at his computer with a hand leaning on the back of his computer chair. "You are going to tell me what's going on," she ordered firmly of the older man.

"…Ran-kun… I promised Sh-Conan-kun I wouldn't…"

"No. You can't keep this from me anymore. I have a right to know what's going on and what has Ai-chan and Conan-kun so scared!" she insisted firmly. "Tell me!" Agasa held her angry worried glare a moment longer and finally sat back down with a sigh.

* * *

"_All units, all units. We have registered a silent alarm at café Coffee and Cake. Unknown disturbance in progress. All available units, please respond."_

Takagi leaned forward in his seat, raising the volume on Sato's police radio while Sato bit her lip. "We're only five minutes out," she mused exchanging a tense look with him. Without a word, Takagi reached for the siren on the dashboard and flipped it on, lowering his window to set it atop the car and make a fast grab for the overhead handle in anticipation of Sato's surge of speed and traffic weaving, a song and dance they both had down pat.

"Handcuffs?" Takagi asked checking his pocket for the familiar heavy rings.

"Check," Sato replied returning a hand to the wheel from checking her own pockets.

"Piece," Takagi called out next, working through their private checklist. He pulled his gun from his holster and pulled the clip, double checking the count. "Mine's good."

"Check me."

Takagi accepted the gun she was holding out to him and pulled the clip. "You're good," he replied jamming the clip back in place, handing it back.

"Go ahead and call in our position. Ask the dispatcher on duty to sign us in," she replied, tucking the semi back in its holster.

"Right." Takagi pulled the mike attachment from the radio. "Sato-san? Why does the name of that restaurant sound familiar? I know I should know that name for some reason," he mused aloud, lowering his hand.

"That sounds like the place the superintendent likes," Sato mused aloud. "Hold on. We're leaving the highway." Takagi lowered the radio piece and focused on his hold on the overhead bar. Sato glanced at him once they were level after her sharp turns from the off-ramp. "What are you waiting for? Call us in!"

"Ah." Takagi held the mike up again…

"_This is patrol car 520, reporting in, first on the scene._"

"Hold on," Sato said holding out a hand for Takagi to wait, which frankly, he was already doing as soon as the voice started talking.

"_We were unable to see anyone through the windows. Approaching the entrance. We're going to try to see what's going on through the door, stand by._"

They both leaned close to the console's speaker waiting for details.

"_Oh, man! It looks like a bloodbath in there! Central it's looking like zero survivors. Put in a call to the coroner, I'm counting… eleven, no make that fourteen down I can see from here."_

"_Yuasa-san! Against the wall over there, is that… Central! Officer down! Officer down! We need a bus, now! It's Matsumoto-keishi!"_

"_Amari-kun! Wait! We haven't secured the scene yet, don't just run in!"_

**CRACK**

**CRACK**

Takagi turned a shocked and frightened gaze on Sato at the sharp sounds of bullets fired, her own eyes wide with fear for their fellow officers.

"_Car 250, respond! Car 250, this is Central! Please respond!"_

"Hold on, Takagi-kun!" Sato floored the gas, and Takagi held on for dear life as she took turns in sharp angles, gritting his teeth at the force of the car's rear half making sharp slides to keep up with the front of the car with her tires squealing in protest. "Please, let them just be injured," she muttered aloud. Takagi gave up on trying for the radio, needing both hands to hold on to keep up with the shifting centrifugal force of the many turns.

"Matsumoto-keishi!" Takagi whispered in a voice tight with a mixture of fear and shock. "He can't be…"

"They're not getting away with this!" Sato growled, allowing herself to fall completely into her anger lest she break down and start crying right then and there that one of her father's closest friends, a man who's family had been neighbors and good friends of hers and her parents back when she was a child before his promotion could be… She poured every trick she knew into navigating the close quarters of the narrow streets to get her there just one second faster.

"_Central! This is car 243 joining the scene! How far out are those ambulances?_!_ Tell them to hurry! We'll secure the scene!"_

Sato slammed on the brakes, letting the car skid sideways to a stop outside the family restaurant, mere feet from crashing into the unit already there. "Wait!" she ordered, grabbing Takagi's arm to hold him still before he could open the door. "There's no way whoever did this would stay after shooting police officers. They must be in the process of escaping," she spat out fiercely, scanning the streets.

"We're not going to help them?" Takagi asked in surprise gesturing to the black and white they had nearly hit.

"They've got the scene secured! We're better off finding whoever did this!" she replied fiercely. She gripped the wheel tightly, her eyes beginning to fill with tears she couldn't quite fight back anymore, spying the familiar sedan of the police superintendent parked innocently just outside the restaurant's wide window front, windows spattered with streaks of bright red blood.

They both watched the blue and white Viper SRT pull out of the alley ahead of them with a low thrum of its engine and turn down the road toward the highway. Sato growled low in her throat and her hand shot to her gearshift.

"Sato-san? What are you doing?" Takagi asked looking back to the flashing lights of the squad cars newly arrived surrounding the block.

"What does it look like, I'm catching the bastards that did this!" Sato exclaimed angrily with a squeal of tires when she punched the gas pedal. The car only made it forward a few meters before they were thrown against their seatbelts and warning lights lit across the dashboard from the stalled motor. Sato glared at Takagi through her tears, his hand still on the parking brake. "Why_!_?" she demanded through falling tears, "Why are you stopping me_!_? It's Matsumoto-keishi! And they…he was one of my father's friends! He's Megure-keibu's friend! We can't just sit and watch his murderers drive away!" she screamed through her tears.

"Sato-san," Takagi's voice was soft but firm and drew Sato's attention in its still seriousness. "We don't have time for any of this. Matsumoto-keishi gave us a job to do." He stared at her meaningfully.

Sato stared back as their clandestine conversation with the police superintendent caught up with her. She gave her partner a quick nod. "You're right. I'm sorry," she wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She cleared her throat and restarted the engine. "We need to get there before these people finish the job." Takagi nodded and took well-practiced hold of the overhead bar above his door. She pulled a sharp u-turn that took them past the alley. Takagi caught a glimpse of two crumpled bodies and a blood-washed wall before they were long past the scene and racing for the Matsumoto estate. He jumped slightly when Sato thrust her phone in his face during a turn he silently felt needed two hands on the wheel.

"Here, I need you to dial for me," Sato muttered with a steel edge of determination in her voice. "Sayuri-san needs to be ready to leave when we get there. We have no way of knowing how much time we're going to have."

"Right." Takagi answered scrolling through Sato's address book where they had programmed Matsumoto's home and family numbers only a few days ago. He watched her as best he could over the phone. Aside from a few more tears, she seemed okay in her grim determination of their current mission but he was well aware that she was holding herself together by sheer will power alone. "It's ringing," he told her. He sighed expectedly as she held out her hand in silent demand for the phone.

"Sayuri-san? This is Sato Miwako," Sato tightened her hold on the wheel until her knuckles were painfully white.

"Miwako-chan? It's been such a long time since I've heard from you," the cheerful voice over the phone answered. "How have you been?" Sato felt her tears, which she thought she had under control, well up so quickly she couldn't even try to blink them back and simply gave in to letting them fall uncontrolled. "I heard from my father that you finally closed your dad's case. I'm so…"

"I-I'm sorry Sayuri-san," Sato interrupted in a shaky voice. "I'm calling because something has happened." She stopped and took a steadying breath before she could continue.

"Miwako-chan…has something happened to my father?"

"…I'm so sorry," Sato whispered.

"I see… I understand, Miwako-chan," Sayuri answered almost calmly. "Please Miwako-chan, tell me… Was it the people who have been shadowing my father these last few weeks?"

"You know? He told you what's been happening?" Sato asked somewhat shocked that Matsumoto-keishi had told his daughter about something so dangerous.

"Miwako-chan, I know my father can seem like an intimidating person, but this is the man that raised me alone since I was eight. He could never keep anything that worries him from me. With everything that's been happening, he asked us to make plans in case something did happen. In fact, I've been expecting it. How serious was he hurt?"

Sato's hand clamped over her mouth to choke back a sob. Just as smoothly Takagi reached a hand over to hold the steering wheel steady. He asked permission with his eyes which she could only nod to behind her tears and took the cell phone from her while she reclaimed the steering wheel.

"Sayuri-san, this is Sato-san's partner," Takagi spoke quickly. They had already made it to the more upscale neighborhoods; he could just make out the Suzuki estate in the distance, which meant they were almost there. "We're on our way to pick you up. We need you to be ready to leave the moment we get there. Can you and Toshihiko-san be ready to leave when we get there?"

"It was Takagi-kun, right?" Sayuri asked. "We already have emergency bags ready."

"Please get whatever you need in the next five minutes. Stay away from any windows and wait for us in the garage with the door closed," Takagi ordered.

"Takagi-kun, where is my…"

Takagi snapped Sato's phone shut and tucked it into the breast pocket of his jacket. "We can tell her once we have them in protective custody," he said softly when Sato gave him a worried look. "They won't be ready to leave in time if we tell her now." She nodded through tears and they both sat in silence while navigating the maze of mansions.

"This is our fault," Sato said quietly. She curled over the steering wheel holding onto it desperately. "We knew he was under surveillance. We should have reported it."

"Sato-san, who could we have told?" Takagi said just as quietly. "These people have infiltrated everywhere."

"We could have gone to Megure-keibu," Sato suggested. "He would have moved mountains if we had asked him to."

"And we would have brought him and his wife into the line of fire," Takagi replied. "We can't second-guess our every move, we can only move forward. And right now we have to get Matsumoto-keishi's family away from here."

"Takagi-kun, something's not right here." The last turn had put them on the Matsumoto estate's street… which had a disturbing prevalence of black vehicles. "This might get dangerous." Takagi nodded and readied his weapon.

Sato raced down the street pulling a hard turn into the long driveway that almost had them colliding with the estate's tall iron wrought gate, and pulled a tire-squealing slide that ended with her side of the car flush against the garage door already rising. Matsumoto's daughter and son-in-law now had Sato's car safely between them and their surveillance detail slowly gathering in large numbers at their gates.

Takagi and Sato were out of the vehicle in a synchronized move honed from the last year and a half of working together, Takagi using his door for cover with his firearm pointed down the driveway over the door and Sato had her weapon similarly aimed over the roof of her RX7. "Hurry!" she shouted over her shoulder to the two hurrying to the vehicle. Toshihiko yanked open the back door of the vehicle and the two hurried in with nothing more than a mid-sized suitcase apiece. Sato and Takagi followed in after them with the sound of many vehicles roaring to life ahead of them.

"Keep your heads down." Sato ordered revving the engine in first gear before jumping directly to third in a racing start peel-out. She pulled the handbrake in a screeching power slide out of the driveway and accelerated down the street. Takagi gripped the headrest of his seat, fully turned around and leaned out the window to take a careful shot at the tires of the lead car behind them. Whether it was luck or providence, his first shot blew out the tire of the leading black sedan behind them that lost control and wound up stalling, half blocking the road behind them. They exchanged a look of relief while Takagi belted himself in. "Let's hope we don't run into anyone else and we can get to a safe house quickly."

"…My father wasn't just hurt, was he?" Sayuri asked from the back seat. Next to her, Toshihiko held her hand tightly.

"No, Sayuri-san," Sato replied grimly, keeping her line of sight strictly on the road ahead of them.

They were nearly out of the neighborhood when a sleek black coupe pulled out from a side street after them followed closely by a motorcycle Takagi was all too familiar with. "Sato-san," he warned.

"I see them," she answered back. "We're almost to the highway, we can lose them there." A second motorcycle joined them from the left. The two motorcycles started to creep up on their sides while the Porsche kept stubbornly behind them. "They're trying to box us in. Hang on."

Sato made a run for the main road ahead of them swerving sharply to the side forcing one of the motorcycles to break off. The opening gave Sato enough room to drift the next turn ignoring the red light and leaving a mess of cars forced to break blocking the Porsche behind them. Sato raced for the on-ramp with only the two motorcycles left to race after her. "We might just make it," she muttered with every intention of running any motorcycle that came too close into the wall.

They were just cresting the on-ramp when a blue car parked in the emergency lane came into view. Sato barely had time to register the sight of the two rifles pointed at them over the hood of the Viper when the loud bang of the two shots was heard over the roar of her engine.

* * *

Conan sighed to himself in consternation when his attempts to reach the door handle of the hotel room failed in painful wincing. Had he reached the room without incident that morning, he was sure he could have handled the distance but his rough tumbles in the back of Sato's car had aggravated his sore muscles that had only just begun to feel manageable, and were currently blown to hell. A few experimental rubs had confirmed his back and neck were feeling much puffier than when he had checked that morning. He glared at the key card Jodie had left for him down at the concierge's desk and settled for knocking on the door and waiting in the plush hallway of the hotel's floor of large suites feeling very out of place in his ill-fitting oversized coat and ski cap dipping low over his face hoping no one left their rooms until he was safely inside. He had already had to live through the humiliation of the concierge's 'awwing' and 'cooing' at how 'adorable' he looked and if he was wearing his big brother's clothes.

The second the room's door opened he marched in past the legs of an agent he vaguely recognized from Kir's hospital stay with barely a word of thanks, ripping the coat off as he went and chucking it onto a chair next to an ornate marble table with a flower arrangement against the wall and throwing the hat after it. Around him, several agents gave him nods of greeting a few staring openly at his visible bandages, which he strictly ignored, scanning the room for sign of Jodie and the others. His gaze fell on the closed double doors of what he imagined was the suite's dining room and stalked over to it, giving the door a couple of kicks with his good foot.

"Oh, good. Conan-kun, you're here," James greeted blithely, opening the doors wide for the sullen child to enter.

Conan stalked in, his glare finding Kaito quickly at the table. "I hate you," he glowered at the thief staring back at him, glare turning into a light flush as Kaito had the temerity to burst out laughing.

"Serves you right you little groper," Kaito shot back between fits of laughing.

At that, Conan's light blush of embarrassment for being laughed at spread in milliseconds to consume his face to his ear tips, leaving Heiji and Hakuba staring between the two in confusion. Conan maturely stomped his way to Heiji's side of the table _away_ from the laughing teenager having a grand time making him miserable and pulled out the seat, giving a hop to land the top half of his torso on its seat and giving a soft grunt pulling himself up on it by his forearms, legs swinging in the air. Not bothering to help knowing he'd only be glared at, Heiji rest his cheek on a hand and watched him struggle, waiting until the boy, now red-faced from effort, was fully up on the chair kneeling on his knees to see over the table edge. "Sato-keiji let ya get away?" he asked in a half-bored half-amused voice. "I'm surprised. I thought she was gonna handcuff you to herself so ya couldn't escape."

Conan shifted his glare to his friend's arching eyebrow and barely disguised grin. "Funny," he muttered in a droll voice around his heaving breaths from his fight onto the chair.

"Told ya not to keep avoiding them," Heiji continued earning him another pointed glare. "Hey, what did Kuroba mean when he said 'groper'?" he asked in a private soft voice. Conan held his glare another few seconds and turned his attention to the group, ignoring the Osakan's question.

"Sorry I'm late," he told the two FBI agents patiently watching their bickering in amusement. "I was _detained_," he finished with a light glare Kaito's way.

"It's alright. You haven't missed much," Jodie replied. "They only got here maybe fifteen, twenty minutes before you did."

Conan looked over at Kaito and Hakuba in surprise. He had wound up stuck in Sato's car at least forty minutes. "I had an errand to run," Hakuba told him lightly, observing his questioning look.

Conan shifted his attention to the still lightly smoking laptop on the table. "What happened to that?" he asked.

"Night Baron happened," Hakuba answered, giving the laptop a light poke with a pen. "It seems there's no way to make a burned copy of the hard drive's content without carrying the virus with it. Our evidence is going to come down to using the original files on the hard drive without any way of backing them up if we can't find a way to deactivate the virus."

"We'll have to print hard copies of everything," Conan mused, reflecting on how precious each file on the drive was going to be now that they had little means of making digital copies of anything in the drive.

"We're giving them Hakuba's computer since it's just safer if the drive stays where it is," Kaito added.

Conan turned a surprised look of shock Hakuba's way. "I'm really sorry about having to turn over your computer, I'll replace it," Conan told him in a low voice.

"It's fine, I can get a new one myself, Conan-kun. It's worth it if it can stop these people," Hakuba returned frankly. Conan held his gaze for a moment and finally gave Hakuba a nod of acknowledgement. "Oh, and I suppose we should have mentioned this earlier," he continued, turning to address the two FBI agents, waiting politely for James to sit down again. "On our way here, we encountered the car of that Gin person."

"You saw Gin's car_?_!" Conan exclaimed in alarm, leaning over the table on his hands towards the blonde. "Where_?_!"

"When we were passing through Beika," Kaito added. "We saw Gin and Vodka both," he told them splitting his attention between Conan and the now very interested agents.

"That's right," Heiji muttered with an annoyed sigh. "It's my fault K-…er…-Conan-kun," he added catching his slip with a withering glance from Hakuba. "They wouldn't listen ta me."

"Why? What happened?" Conan asked, suddenly on high alert.

"Umm… I kinda broke into his car?" Kaito confessed hesitantly.

"You WHAT_?_!" Conan yelled.

"Oh, dear. Kuroba…-kun? I really don't think that was a very good idea," Jodie agreed after exchanging an alarmed look with James.

"I told 'em not to," Heiji spoke up insistently.

"Relax, Conan-kun. I wouldn't usually endorse Kuroba's illicit habits but some good did come of it," Hakuba said turning his nose up at Heiji for so quickly assigning the two of them blame and ignoring Kaito's glare.

"Right," Kaito jumped in, giving Hakuba a light kick under the table and pouting lightly when Hakuba made no reaction. "That tracer you planted on me last night…"

"You didn't," Conan moaned.

"Hakuba hid it really well. There's no way they'll find it," Kaito insisted.

"Do you mean to say we have a tracking devise on Gin right now_?_!" James asked in stunned amazement.

Conan sighed, breaking his glare on the two Ekoda-cho teens and activated the lens on his glasses. "It looks like he's somewhere in Beika," he said, watching the red dot closely. "He's on the move but not particularly fast. I'll consider us lucky if he's just out running errands again like the first time I found his car," he muttered. He lowered his glasses to peer at Kaito and Hakuba over the top like a stern teacher. "With this, we _may_ be able to find their new base. But it was still reckless," he scolded when he noticed the two start to grin. "We can be thankful for small miracles none of you were seen." Next to him, Heiji dropped his face into his crossed arms on the table with a low miserable moan. "What now!" Conan demanded glaring at them all.

"Um… he saw _them_," Kaito volunteered, pointing at Hakuba and Heiji in turn. "They shoved _me_ in an alley."

Conan glared down at Heiji next to him, assigning his friend full blame for supposedly knowing better than the two Ekoda-cho students. "Quit looking at me like that," Heiji muttered, sparing Conan a one eyed look from his arm nest. "I'm not the one who decided ta hold a conversation with the guy," he grumbled glaring at Hakuba across the table.

"… … …I just can't leave any of you alone ever!" Conan growled with his eyebrows twitching madly.

"That was an incredibly dangerous move, Hakuba-kun," Jodie added tensely. "One wrong step and you could be facing protective custody when dealing with these people and even then your chances are slim."

"I'll be fine," Hakuba insisted seriously, "Though I do apologize for letting your friend be noticed," he told Conan sincerely. Across the table, Heiji scoffed at his polite apologetic tones to Conan and re-buried his face.

"That aside," Conan grumbled pointedly giving Hakuba a sharp glare, "I have a few more people that are going to need to be brought in. People who are _discreet_." He gave up his glare on the blonde and turned to face the two agents. "Detectives Sato and Takagi. From what I understand, they have found some evidence of their own." He poked Heiji in the arm to draw him out of his burrow.

"New evidence_?_! Have these two detectives really found some_!_?" Jodie asked excitedly.

"These are the two you asked us to monitor, right? If they've found anything we _must_ have access to it," James agreed looking equally eager. "Do you know what they have?"

"They have a laptop Irish planted in the tower," Heiji spoke up, "It has all the video surveillance feeds from the tower during the attack."

Jodie's mouth fell open in shock, turning to exchange surprise with the equally shocked James. "That's… astounding!" James wondered aloud. "They really have the entire thing on video_!_?"

"More than that. They have a huge bag of stuff they won't let me see," Heiji continued.

"Really_?_!" Hakuba piped up from his side of the table with amused interest and Heiji made a face at his droll tone, brimming with all the comments he was probably considering making about his intellectual failings.

"How soon can we orchestrate a meeting with these detectives?" James asked Conan, learning fast when to drop his attention on the teenagers at the table.

"Today. It's already arranged. I've asked them to stop by after their shift ends," Conan replied with his familiar shark grin spreading across his face. James smiled, both happy and amazed that the boy had once again already anticipated him. "It looks like we're about to be one step closer," he told Jodie quietly.

* * *

Sato fought the wheel from her hunched position. She had definitely been running much too fast for the unexpected swerve and her wrists and forearms were screaming from the sheer force it took to control the swerve and keep the car from sliding too wide and straight into the concrete median. She couldn't even assess the situation in the car around her when a second volley of shots pinged against the car's exterior, flooring the gas and forcing sore arms to round out the swerve. As soon as she could spare a hand free from the wheel she dragged the back of her hand across her cheek, oddly wet and glanced down. Her hand was streaked with a light spattering of bright red blood, and her cheek had felt most uninjured.

"Takagi_!_? Takagi!"

Her eyes widened in fear focusing on the two spidering holes in the glass of her windshield, one of them nearly centered on the passenger side. A distant but loud rev behind them kept her eyes split between watching her mirrors and where they were going as the blue sports car they passed roared to life and the two motorcycles blew past the car after them.

"Takagi! Answer me, damn it!" she cried, her hands clenching the steering wheel for dear life… and she just couldn't seem to force herself to look to the side at all.

"Takagi!"

Next to her, she finally heard movement… the light twinkling of glass falling. She finally dared a peek to her partner who was slowly leaning forward and carefully brushing tiny shards of glass from his hair. Perhaps sensing her arrested stare, Takagi looked to the side from his bent position, still not ready to straighten and risk glass falling in his eyes and Sato's wavering stare centered on the line of red crossing the edge of his cheek toward his ear and the bright red blood running down the side of his face, her mouth falling open at the sight of how close, mere millimeters, the bullet had come from piercing straight through his temple. "SATO-SAN? DID YOU SAY SOMETHING?" Takagi asked a little too loudly and promptly frowned, rubbing the back of his wrist against his ear, keeping his glass-tainted fingers away from his face.

Sato finally shut her mouth, her chest, tight in a twisted terror, beginning to unknot itself and the resultant rush made her feel shaky and giddy all at once. "…you idiot," she murmured under her breath. "Do that to me again and I will shoot you!" she muttered, focusing her attention fully on the road.

"WHAT?" Takagi asked in confusion, still fussing at his ear with the back of his hand trying to alleviate the incessant ringing.

"Forget it!" Sato told him in a loud voice. "Sayori-san, Toshihiku-san, are you both alright?" she asked checking her rearview for both their passengers and their pursuers.

"We're fine," Toshihiku replied from his protective curl over Sayori. Satisfied in his answer, Sato switched her focus back to the vehicles behind them. At her side, Takagi was dialing on his cell phone and Sato gave him an odd look, watching him hold it to his left ear with one hand, the other making a second attempt to clear out his hair.

"What are you doing?" she asked loudly.

"Conan-kun told us to call him if we saw that Porsche," he replied in a volume closer to normal and Sato gave an inward sigh of relief the bullet had done no permanent damage. Not even pausing to think the move odd for them to be calling in their situation to the strange child, she gave him a fierce nod of approval focused on her appointed task of keeping them all alive until some kind of plan was made to rid themselves of their pursuers.

* * *

Jodie looked up with an annoyed glare to a group of young agents gathering around the hotel room television. With a heavy sigh for needing to prod the younger members of their team back to work yet again, she left the small encampment of teens to stalk over to the suite's large living room area. Conan spared her a quick glance of curiosity that quickly became sharp and hawk-like noting the sudden change in her posture when she looked to see what had her men so enraptured. He was already hopping down from his chair and trailing after her before she turned to give them a serious look and beckon them over.

Conan wedged himself past the light forest of legs abandoning his fellow detectives to fight for view over the shoulders of the adults and snagged himself a front row view of the breaking news report interrupting whatever mindless sitcom the television had been playing for background noise. His eyes widened in surprise, recognizing the restaurant behind the reporter and the obvious blood on the windows visible even from the distance the police on scene were keeping the reporters to. "Raise it," Jodie ordered softly to one of the agents on the couch.

"…_haven't been able to have many questions answered from the police on scene but for the moment, it seems there were no survivors in this altercation with two unidentified assailants and word is, one of the victims is rumored to be a high level authority in the police force and that's in addition to the deaths of the two officers who were first on the scene…"_

"Oh my God," Hakuba murmured under his breath, his complexion dropping in color, fishing through his jacket pocket for his cell and slipping away from the group. "Come on father, pick up," he muttered dropping to the back of the room to pace.

"Have they said who it was_!_?" Kaito asked in a dread fear of his own, fighting his own urge to phone Nakamori just to make sure the man was keeping to his usual workaholic mode of skipping meals. He actually jumped, a hand catching onto Heiji's jacketed arm when two shrill phone rings sounded loudly in the room almost simultaneously.

At the front of the crowd, Conan gave his phone a suspicious once-over at the 'unknown' call his cell's i.d. glared up at him and exchanged a sharp-eyed look with Jodie also frowning over her phone. Catching the boy's intent, Jodie backed away from the group, retreating into the conference room they had just left with Conan running to catch up with her and trailing his group of detective friends after a sharp snap and point to the room. She caught James' eye on her way, waving him over to follow.

"Yes?" she answered as soon as she reached the quieter room.

"…a hit has been called…" a whispering voice answered, just loud enough to be heard over the random noise of the outdoors.

"…Kir," Jodie replied in answer, recognizing the light tone and drawing James' attention in an instant.

"…I can't fake my way out of this. You must protect them… or I will have to go through with it. We're going now."

"Just tell me who," Jodie answered with a frown, her temper drawing in agitation knowing full well the CIA agent meant it.

"I'm sending our list to your email. It's a double hit with multiple secondary targets. I leave it to you."

Jodie cursed under her breath hearing the woman hang up abruptly. "We have a situation," she spoke in a rush to James while she hurriedly pulled her laptop from a carry-all she'd left in a corner of the room earlier that day. "Get everyone ready, they're about to make a move," she told him urgently, racing to pull up her email.

In his own corner of the room, Conan ignored Jodie's conversation answering his own phone. "Hel-"

"They're coming for her!"

Conan froze recognizing the rushed voice, even over the loud background sound of rushing wind and an engine, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What do _you_ want Ver-"

"There's no time! They're coming for her and her family! You're in danger too! Get out now! There's nothing I can do to help you! Go! … … …"

Conan felt his fingers go cold on his phone, now beeping a dial tone and he felt his chest synch tight, looking up at Jodie with a look fast approaching panic. If Jodie noticed, she didn't stop or pause in her frenzied task of printing out whatever the CIA agent had sent her and Conan swung his fear-stricken gaze to Heiji. The young Osakan dropped to a knee the second he noticed Conan's pale face with Kaito and Hakuba right behind him, huddling close when they noticed his move.

"Kudo! What's wrong?" Heiji hissed in a quiet whisper.

"They're coming. They've found out." His voice came out in a stricken, dumbfounded whisper of a voice even as his mind was screaming at him to MOVE.

"What_?_!" Kaito hissed in surprise as softly as he could.

"Shit," Heiji muttered under his voice but whatever he was about to say next was swallowed in Jodie's strict voice calling the room to silence.

"'The organization has just put a hit out on the two detectives Conan-kun had us put under watch. Kriss, call Michaels and Jameson and tell them to extract **now**! I want Detectives Sato and Takagi's parents in our custody and at our safe house _yesterday_! Stevens you're in charge, pick four people for your team and make sure the safehouse is ready and guarded by the time Michaels and Jameson bring them. We also have an additional family we weren't expecting that was put on their list as secondaries so we need to move fast. We'll also be taking the Mouri family!" She paused as agents all around the room and the three teenagers all turned and stared at the child in their midst turning whiter and whiter at every second.

The silence was broken when Conan's phone rang loudly again, and the shaken boy yelped aloud at the shock of it. Under everyone's sorrowful gaze, Conan answered the phone with shaking hands. "Hello?" he answered shakily.

"Conan-kun, it's Takagi. I'm not sure what you can do about it, but you told us to call you if we saw a black Porsche," Takagi spoke quickly, clearly audible in the stunned silence of the room and Conan could hear the tangled background sound of a car being stressed through high paced moves. And his shell-shocked mind was moving with the speed of mud trying to react. Making a quick decision watching the boy, Heiji reached down and snatched the phone from his limp grip.

"Keiji-han? It's Hattori," he walked away from the boy with the eyes of the FBI following him as he moved closer to Jodie. "They're in the middle of a car chase right now," he told her in a lowered voice. "They're being chased by _them_ and they need help now!" he told her urgently. "They have two targets the organization was going to eliminate with them!"

Down near his knees, Conan snapped his head up at his words, his eyes picking up their usual sharpness and Kaito breathed a light sigh of relief nearby watching the usual ferocity he knew so well in the kid returning.

"Who do they have with them?" Conan asked sharply, and Heiji paused, and grinned seeing Conan was pulling himself back under control. He nodded to the kid, asking his question for him to the Beika-cho detective.

"He says they have Matsumoto-keishi's family with them," he paused listening again, and the room watched his face fall at whatever was said next. "Matsumoto-keishi… was just assassinated," he said in a quiet, stunned voice. Conan's eyes went wide as did Hakuba and Kaito's eyes, all quite familiar with the name. Of the FBI, Jodie and James nodded gravely, more familiar with Tokyo police forces members than many of the agents under them.

"They need extracting and we're wasting precious time," Jodie replied, taking up her lead again. "Camel, take Johnson, Smith, Garcia, Yokokura and Jackson and get them to safety. James-san can I ask you to handle finding Mouri-san and his wife?"

"I can give you Eri-obasan's address. She should be at the office right now," Conan piped up with a glance at his watch.

"And don't worry, I'll find Ran myself Conan-kun," Jodie told him in grim seriousness, exchanging a soft look with Conan who nodded gratefully.

"Thank you," Conan told her quietly. "You have her number, right?" he asked to which Jodie smiled an affirmative.

"You're not going with them?" Kaito asked in surprise, somewhat stunned.

"They're looking for me. By now they all know what Ran and I and her parents look like. If I go, I might be noticed. We'd only be bringing them straight to her. It's safer if I stay away," Conan reasoned. "Camel-san, I'm going with you. We need Sato-keiji and Takagi-keiji to follow your group without question. They don't know any of you all that well and we won't have time to waste. But they'll trust _me_."

"Alright kid. We're wasting time, lets go," Camel said hurriedly, yanking his coat from where it was lying draped over a chair and rushing to the door, his aforementioned team following after him. Conan gave him a fierce nod and turned to face his fellow detectives.

"Hattori, you need to let Yamato-keibu know what's happened," he said in low voice, now that the FBI agents were scattering to their tasks of coordinating the multiple rescues. "They need to be ready to leave Takagi-keiji's apartment. We're racing the clock before the organization sends someone there. We've caught a bit of a break with them knowing Takagi-keiji is on the road right now."

"Got it," Hattori replied.

Conan turned to face Kaito with stern eyes. "You need to decide what you're going to do. I've got to go with Ran and Oji-san wherever they can hide us."

"I'm going too," Kaito answered without missing a beat, his gaze just as fierce in case the brat was hiding any thoughts of ditching him. Conan nodded, already knowing what the thief's likely answer would be.

"I will too," Hakuba added, in a slight rush, Kaito and Heiji looking him askance. "In for a penny and all that," he muttered. Conan gave him a firm nod, the only one of the group who seemed to have been expecting his choice.

"Come on, kid! Or we'll leave you behind!" Camel called from the suite's door, holding it open for the last of his team rushing out. Conan gave them all a last look and took off out the door activating his glasses' radar as he went followed closely by James and Jodie.

Watching them go, Heiji fished his phone from his pocket and retreated into the dining room they'd just vacated, pulling the door closed as he went only to be stopped by Kaito's hand above his on the door and frowned somewhat finding Hakuba on the thief's heels but said nothing, leaving the two to follow him in while he dialed out. He leaned back against the table, fidgeting a leg, waiting with tense energy for the detective to pick up.

"Yamato-keibu, we have a huge problem," he said fiercely watching the FBI agents rushing about madly through the sliver of open door. "And we're running out 'a time."

* * *

"Damn it!" Yamato cursed loudly, pocketing his phone in a hurry and drawing Uehara's attention away from cutting the pictures from the docket of material Sato had brought home from the botched Kid heist for their evidence map on the wall. She looked up in alarm seeing him snag a shoulder loop of the evidence bag with his crutch and hauling it closer in an agitated jerky move.

"What's wrong?" she asked instantly wary when she noticed he had paled considerably.

"Pack all that!" he ordered roughly pointing at the stack of folders and binders. "It was that Hattori kid. Our two detectives just got put on these freaks' murder list and he says they're not the type to waste time. I want every stitch of evidence in this room packed in our car and ready to get out of here **now**!"

Uehara's eyes went wide in shock and she sat frozen in place unable to move. "Are they okay_?_!" she asked urgently, watching him pull himself to his feet.

"He said they're being chased right now," he replied in hurried tones, rushing to the wall of evidence where he began ripping down papers and pictures popping out push pins to fall to the floor around him along with all the lengths of string previously crossing the wall in complex webworks. "He didn't add much detail except that help is on the way to them. What are you doing Yui_!_? **Move it!**" he ordered in a near yell.

It was just the impetus she needed to shake herself from her worry and start shoving folders into the gym bag, and jamming in fistfuls of papers Yamato was handing her while he worked his way across the wall, the both of them moving just slow enough to make sure they left not a scrap of the pages and photos for some assassination squad to find later. Yamato left her in the living room to make a rushed trip to the kitchen for anything left behind in the room. His eyes fell quickly to the sink with four coffee mugs neatly stacked in the drying rack. With a muffled curse he started pulling cabinet doors for the proper place to store them away and searching for any other evidence in the room four people had been staying in the apartment the last week. His searching found him the drawer of random odds and ends Takagi stored the few tools he owned.

"Yui! That guy left his car _here_, right?" he called from the kitchen.

"Yes! They went in Miwako-san's car!" she called back, dashing from the coffee table and a full gym bag to Takagi's room for something else to fill with their evidence. "He has the keys for it though!" She came back from the bedroom with an armful of suitcases in time to see her partner hurriedly slipping his shoes on. "Where are you going?" she asked worriedly passing him up for the computer and the mess of discs and electronics on Takagi's desk. He paused just long enough to hold up his free hand full of screwdrivers.

"I'm gonna give 'em a fighting chance," he answered, pulling his arm out of his crutch to pull on his jacket, still laying across the top of the couch where it had been for the last few days. "Don't forget to get rid of that futon," he ordered on his way to the door. "It's just as important no one figures out they should be chasing four people instead of two long enough for us to find a safe house to regroup in later."

"You expect we'll be found out," Yui said without hint of a question in her voice.

"We've been here too long," he called back from the door, not bothering to slow down. "We've both left prints everywhere and we don't have time to do anything about it."

"So wherever they wind up, we're going with them," she finished. Her words finally made him pause, his hand frozen on the doorknob.

"…I'm sorry about this Yui," he replied after a moment. And then gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I've really landed us in deep this time."

She looked up from Takagi's computer she was in the middle of shutting down. "Wouldn't have it any other way Kan-chan," she called back, her sharp eyes almost twinkling in wicked mirth despite the dangerous net of time closing in on them. "You always were good at finding adventures that bring nothing but trouble. Now hurry up and do whatever you were planning on, the clock's running," she finished, turning back to the now black screen and unplugging wires and cables. Yamato gave her a rakish grin she couldn't see and left the apartment.

* * *

The phone was ringing.

The phone in Professor Agasa's kitchen was ringing loudly in the room's silence following the wake of Ran's demand. Ran and Agasa both stood rather frozen in place, neither willing to set aside their stubborn stances. It was Ai that pulled herself out of Ran's arms, wiping away at still teary eyes in frustration for her inability to have stayed detached in front of the high school girl and forcing herself to settle back into her normal temperament by the time she reached the kitchen, dragging a stool to the counter. Considering the phone had been ringing for such a long time, she felt fairly confident who was calling and if she was right, Kudo was going to get the earful of his life for having screwed up so badly this time. There was almost no way now to avoid full disclosure of the organization to Ran and she was _not pleased._

"Edogawa-kun," she answered in a low voice brimming with a repressed urge to shout.

"Haibara! Why didn't you answer_?_! Do you have _any_ idea how bad that scared me_?_!" his voice raged over the line.

"I really don't care," she answered after holding the phone away from her ear and keeping a close eye on Ran and the professor to make sure they hadn't heard him. "I see you're finally rejoining the world after your vacation," she told him sarcastically. "How could you possibly have let her find out about this! Did I not make myself clear that knowing ANYTHING about the organization would be her DEATH!" she cried, barely managing to keep her voice at an unnoticeable level to the two in the open-plan house's living room. "Do you realize what you've done_?_!" Across the line, all she could hear was silence that seemed to go on forever. "WELL_!_? ANSWER ME, EDOGAWA-KUN!"

"… …Ran's there?" he asked with a tense stillness and edged with a hopefulness he was unwilling to believe.

"Yes, she's here! And she'd asking about _them_! What did you _do_ to screw up this badly_!_? She knows names!" Ai hissed. "She knows GIN'S name!" She listened to his silence over the line holding the phone tight to her ear, stretching her hearing for the light background sounds of what sounded like a car's engine. Good. The fool detective had better be on his way there. She absolutely refused to explain everything to the girl alone. "What do you have to say for yourself, Edogawa-kun_!_?" she demanded, tiring quickly of his silence.

"…It doesn't matter anymore," he answered softly. "There's no point now."

"What_?_! What are you talking about_?_!" she asked irately, irritated by what seemed his lack of taking the situation for the serious danger to his childhood friend that it was.

"Listen, Haibara. You _have_ to keep her there! Don't let her leave! It's got to be a miracle she's with you instead of at school right now," he answered and Ai bit back the long list of scathing comments she had ready for him hearing the tense seriousness in his voice she hadn't heard since the foul up when his tracer and listening bug had wound up in organization hands.

"What've you done now?" she asked, her voice holding less and less venom being quickly replaced by the familiar cold sense of foreboding any dealings with the organization tended to bring. "Something's gone wrong, hasn't it?"

"It's happened. We're going to bug out," he told her in an even voice meant to be calming. Ai felt her fingers go cold on the phone receiver, a shallow gasp leaving her pale and shaking, staring wide-eyed to where Ran was trying to cajole answers from the older man.

"…what?" her voice almost squeaked out but came as more of a breathless whisper.

"It's not on you. You and the professor are still safe as far as I know," Conan continued, "It's up to you two what you decide, but the Mouri's have made their list and we need to disappear." Ai barely listened to him, her shocked eyes moving from Ran to the outer walls of the house, two-stories of large clear windows and skylights letting in sunny light that she had only recently begun to look at as making the house she lived in a place of sunlight as opposed to the terror it had given her in the beginning when she first started making the elderly man's house her home, her thoughts currently racing to her former mindset of how vulnerable one was in the house full of sunshine. She brought her sight right back to Ran with the sudden realization Conan was still talking. "…sending the FBI to find her mom and dad so can I ask you to just keep her _there_ until Jodie-sensei arrives?"

"How?" Ai interrupted.

"What?"

"How did this happen? Why are they coming after her," she asked softly, demanding an answer.

"Why does that matter right now?" Conan asked crossly for her having broken his stream of orders.

"I need to know. I need to know how close they are to linking the professor and I," she insisted feeling her sense of paranoia mount with every car she could see pass by through the gate in front of the professor's house. She flashed a fast look over her shoulder to the Kudo mansion in case anyone there was watching them and managed a sigh of relief that didn't make her feel any better finding the window curtains next door drawn.

"Sato-keiji and Takagi-keiji. They've been investigating their attack on Touto Tower. I don't know all the details but they were just put on their list for elimination a few minutes ago. The Mouri family was listed under secondary targets, all of us." Ai bit her lip, absorbing every detail in silent terror. "I was with Jodie-sensei and James-san when Vermouth called."

"And now you all have to disappear," she finished. "The lives you had are over now." Across the line, Conan fell silent again. "You said Jodie-san was on her way, right?" she asked, marveling at the fact she had kept any shaking from her voice.

"Yeah."

"How long do we have?" she asked firmly, feeling her terrified energy starting to fall under control in anticipation of the work ahead of her.

"Twenty… maybe twenty-five minutes. I know it's not much time," he answered in apology.

"We'll be ready," she answered not even waiting for any social niceties of ending a conversation from him and hanging up before he had time to say anything else… she had all the information she would need anyway. She jumped down from her stool and rushed to lock the front door.

"Hakase, it's happened. It's time to go," she said forcing herself to stay calm and interrupt the arguing pair, walking up to them. "We don't have much time."

From his place at his computer, Professor Agasa paused in his arguing to stare at her in disbelief. "You can't mean…"

"That was Edogawa-kun on the phone. The Mouri's have been targeted. It's time to use the plan," she said softly. "He said we were still safe but…

"You plan to go with them," Agasa finished for her, rising from his chair and crouching down in front of her to give her an encouraging hug.

"I'm sorry I've brought this down on you too," she whispered leaning her forehead forward to rest on his shoulder feeling herself tear up again.

"Nonsense, Ai-kun. I knew this could happen from the first day I took you in," he told her in a fatherly voice. "Now, what kind of timeline are we working with?" he asked standing back up and looking over the floor.

"Twenty minutes," she answered, "You have a larger window since we aren't on their list yet."

"Alright, I'll start packing," he said navigating his way out of the living room's furniture.

"Our emergency suitcases are in the upstairs' closet," she called to him, wiping her eyes again in annoyance for the public display, directing the older man to where she had long stashed emergency 'get away' suitcases for them both not long after she started living there, full of clothes the professor had given up as mysteriously lost long ago.

"Ai-chan? What's going on? You two are going somewhere?" Ran asked after their confusing conversation in front of her.

"Mouri-san, I need your help," Ai said, her eyes narrowing in seriousness. "I need you to do as I ask and not ask any questions for now. Can you do that?" she asked, her voice only shaking slightly. She balled her fists as the increasing adrenalin jitters were starting to mount.

"O-Of course, Ai-chan. What do you need me to do?" Ran asked, confused but determined to do whatever she could. Ai gave her a nod and started for the basement stairs in a fast walk. The sooner she got Ran out of sight of the many windows the better. "Did you say Conan-kun just called?" Ran asked following her down the carpeted stairs to the basement office the professor had let Ai claim for her own. "Is he okay? I haven't been able to ask Hattori-kun how he's doing."

"Yes, he's fine for now," Ai answered distractedly, looking around the room taking stock of what needed to be done. With an assessing nod to herself, she tugged several heavy boxes of paper reams out from under her desk and proceeded to dump their contents on the floor. "All those notebooks," she said pointing to her once organized shelves, now a bit more haphazard since Conan's Osakan friend had come by and she fully blamed her disorderliness on his distracting presence in the house, "All the notes on the wall there," she said pointing to a low corkboard full of quick notes of sudden inspiration for chemical formulas she had amassed and had yet to test, "I need all of those packed in these boxes, as fast as you can. If you see anything on these tables that looks chemistry related, pack that too and set the boxes in the hallway," she ordered, grabbing one of the boxes and climbing her stool to a table full of chemistry glassware and sweeping them all into her box with the exception of any flasks still carrying liquid, hand placing them more carefully. "I'll be right back," she called over a shoulder, leaving Ran to start packing, still watching her in confusion. She made a fast trip upstairs to the house's fireplace, unloading the collection of glassware she used for her antidote experiments, grabbing a collection of nearby Cosmopolitan magazines and some of the Professor's science journals to shove in, lighting a match and leaving the glass to melt away any evidence of what they'd been used for. She paused just long enough to pull an envelope, slightly ratty from age and handling from the professor's desk, shaking its contents out into her hand, a black hard disc. She thanked her obsessive habit of backing up everything on all the home's computer's each night before she slept and slipped the disc into the professor's computer and left the device smoking while she walked away, disc in hand. She ran back downstairs finding Ran diligently working away at her appointed task and several finished boxes neatly stacked in the hallway. Ai pressed past her legs to reach her child-sized lab coat and fling it into the open box Ran was working on.

"Ai-chan, are you and Agasa-hakase going somewhere?" Ran asked carefully, knowing she _had_ just promised not to ask questions. "It almost seems like you're packing up to go away someplace, like you're moving away somewhere," she said hesitantly.

"I am. You are too," Ai answered coolly, bent to her task of opening drawers in her desk and pulling out anything incriminating. She held the disk over head and waited until Ran obligingly took it. "Run that disk through this computer and the laptop in the corner over there," she muttered pointing by memory too occupied to bother looking up.

"W-What do you mean by that," Ran asked, freezing in place at the computer.

Ai looked up from her searching abruptly, "Mouri-san, the computer," she snapped bending back to her task. Pulling open the next drawer, she surreptitiously watched Ran through her lashes to make sure she was well occupied and slipped a handful of flat plastic cases full of spare needles for Conan's watch and what little she had left of her initial batch of temporary antidote into her pocket. She looked up again wide-eyed with a guilty start when Ran gave a cry of alarm and she looked up to see her fretting over the smoking destroyed computer. "It's supposed to do that," she said cutting through Ran's concern and returning to her own searching. "Do the laptop next."

"You're destroying these computers_!_?" Ran asked in alarm.

"Yes, the information on them is too dangerous," Ai answered through her searching.

"You said I was going away, what do you mean?" Ran asked in firm demand, taking in the increasingly bare room and now destroyed computer in front of her.

"I don't have time to explain much but because of something those detectives your family is close to have learned, you all are now under threat," Ai explained with a sigh.

"Takagi-keiji and Sato-keiji_!_?" Ran asked in alarm. "Are they okay?"

"I don't know," Ai replied tersely, forcing Ran to move as she pulled open the long thin drawer of the desk and pocketing a slim, old leather case.

"Under threat how? What's going to happen to my family? Do my mom and dad know they're in danger_!_?" Ran demanded.

"Most likely not," Ai replied, pushing the last of the boxes into the hall.

"What will happen to us?"

"If any of you are caught, you'll be killed," Ai answered sending her a firm look. "You're to stay here until someone comes to pick you up," she told the high school girl who had taken to pacing in the small room.

"No. I need to go home… right away," Ran said both to Ai and herself while she paced in arms-crossed distraction. "I mean, dad has no idea something like this is going on. And he's in the office all by himself right now. If something happened and he was hurt, there's no one there to help him," she fretted. She looked up to see Ai, just as arms-crossed, standing in the middle of the room watching her with thinly veiled worry.

"You _have_ to stay here!" Ai ordered in no uncertain terms. "It's too dangerous for you to be seen right now! It's too dangerous for you to even be upstairs where someone could see you!"

"And is all this why you and Agasa-hakase are leaving too?" Ran demanded. "Is our being in danger affecting the two of you too_!_?" Ran asked in horror, sidestepping Ai's orders completely. "Please don't tell me this means you both have to leave your homes too_!_?" She hardly waited for an answer to her question, taking in the stripped room and making the affirmation herself. She moved for her book bag she'd brought downstairs with her, removing her phone and re-buckling the satchel.

"Don't worry about that, it's not your problem," Ai shot back. "Didn't you hear me_?_! I said you can't leave!" She watched in alarm as Ran gathered her things, readying herself to leave. She made a quick dive, pulling something from under the small couch Agasa had let her have.

"Thank you for telling me all this Ai-chan," Ran said, pulling on the bag's tightened shoulder straps she almost never used and fitting her arms through them as soon as the straps were adjusted long enough to be comfortable. "But you don't have to worry, dad and I will be fine." She paused noticing the young girl standing in her path and right in the doorway.

"You can't go! You'll die if you leave!" Ai cried and Ran stopped cold, not from her plea but from the P32 Ai had pointed straight at her with a steady hand despite her terror she was barely keeping bottled down.

"Ai… chan?" Ran froze in place in the room. "Where did you… How did you…"

In the doorway Ai watched her sadly, backing up and pulling the door with her as she did. "I'm sorry Mouri-san… but you're staying here where it's safe." She kept the gun trained on Ran, her hand on the doorknob holding tight to the key she held between her palm and metal, readying it for use the instant the door was shut. She knew she wouldn't have much time once she closed the door and Ran no longer had a gun pointed at her. Taking a deep breath and holding it, she quickly slammed the door shut and hurried with shaking fingers to shove in the key and turn it, jumping back from the door as it shuddered violently from what was likely a powerful kick from the other side and she let out a shaky breath glad the professor had installed heavy metal doors everywhere in his house to protect themselves from any possible explosions from his experiments. She had no doubt if the door had been wood, it would be lying in pieces. She dragged in heavy breaths from the far side of the corridor in front of the door watching it shake and tremble from more blows.

"**Ai-chan! Ai-chan, let me out! You have to let me out! I need to find my dad, please! Ai-chan!**"

Ai stared at the door with a sigh now that her breath was back to normal and leaned back heavily against the wall, sliding down to the floor in the dim yellow light of the downstairs hallway and drew her knees to her chest, listening to the muffled pleading from the door, flinching at the cold metal of the gun held loosely in her hands touching her leg. '_She's safe, Edogawa-kun. Like I promised. Now please hurry!_'

* * *

Conan shut his phone, shoving it deep in his pocket. "You already got Jodie on her way to that professor of yours' house?" Camel asked from the seat in front of him.

"Yes," he answered with a sigh of relief, finally feeling the closest to calm he'd felt since the calls from Vermouth and Kir had come in. He adjusted his focus back to the lens in front of him, flipping through zoom levels while Camel gave him the occasional look through the rearview.

"What've ya got kid?"

"Gin's on highway one, moving north towards Chiyoda ward," Conan answered, his eyes almost crossed focusing on the small blip on his glasses. "He's moving pretty fast. That's the wrong way from Beika, he _must_ be chasing Sato-keiji and Takagi-keiji."

Camel nodded at the sound logic, taking an on ramp onto the highway. "Afraid we're not as familiar with the roads of Tokyo as you must be, kid. Think you can make us a plan? We need to get ahead of them all if our plan's going to work," he said watching over the boy as he stood on his seat to look out the back windshield at the group of cars following them.

Conan gave him a rather sharkish grin and hopped up to the gap between the two front seats. "Up ahead, highway one splits in two and then joins a loop in the center of Tokyo in Chiyoda. They're not that far ahead of us and they just entered the right branch of the split. If we take the left and gun it, we can pull ahead and be waiting for them when they enter the loop."

Camel grinned rakishly back at the boy. "You're sure they'll turn left when they join the loop?" he asked, more interested in Conan's reasoning than actually criticizing his plan.

"If they turned right, the highway's being repaved, it's down to two lanes," Conan explained with a wide smile, eyes sharp with anticipation. "Will that work for what you've got in mind?" he asked, even though he was almost sure what Agent Camel was planning.

"Kid? You ever seen a little movie called 'Smokey and the Bandit'?"

* * *

A Mercedes squealed to a stop outside the detective agency and James hurried out his door following after Eri's brisk walk for the stairs. "Madam I really think it would be safest if you waited in the car," he called following her up the stairs.

"We have two floors to search," Eri replied from above him. "It makes much more sense for us to each take floor and where does leaving me alone in a car while you are in a location with no direct line of sight to see if I really am safe make any sense?" Eri shot back, leaving him behind on the second floor landing while she took the third. James gave a frustrated sigh and entered the agency office somewhere having lost track of the exact moment he had stopped giving orders and begun taking them from the formidable woman.

He had arrived so quickly at the law office he had been surprised himself he hadn't been stopped, but with the seriousness of the shooting that had just happened, it seemed most of the police force in the ward were entirely too busy to worry about a speeding tourist. Flashing his badge had gotten him into her personal office with little time spent. But once there, he had had to let slip the fact of the superintendent's murder, less than an hour old, to fully impress on her skepticism the graveness of the situation, a move he was still unsure of being unable to check her office for any bugs the organization might have had present. Though once fully convinced, Kisaki Eri had jumped into action with the clear mindedness of one well accustomed to handling dire situations. She had immediately sent away every member of her staff on fuax breaks or errands until the office was completely empty. For every case she had pending, she sent out a series of faxes, assigning each one over to one of her colleagues and, taking only her purse and the small kitten keeping them company in the room, had followed him out the door and away from her hard won career without a single witness to say where she had gone.

He shook himself from his reverie leaving the empty office to meet her rushing down the stairs from the upstairs apartment. "He's not there, he wasn't in his office?" she asked in mounting concern.

"Empty," James confirmed with his own worry growing.

Eri dug through her purse frantically, pulling out her cell phone and tapping an impatient foot waiting for her husband to answer while the FBI director waited with her in the shadows of the concrete stairwell. "Come on, come on," she muttered while the phone seemed to ring forever. The phone rang unanswered finally lapsing into the auto-voice messaging system. "Useless man," she cursed in a low voice, squeezing the phone tight in her grip, the device hanging up its call during her mashing of buttons under her fist.

"Could he have run into trouble somewhere?" James asked in concern, though he wasn't quite sure who's watching her temper rise.

"I'm sure he's just fine," she growled, shoving the phone back in her purse. "I'm almost certain where he is," she said rushing back down the stairs, barely waiting for him to follow. "Move Goro-chan," she ordered opening the door to the front passenger seat and shooing the kitten back.

"Kisaki-san, it really would be safer if you took the back seat," James said as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"You told me earlier you hadn't been in Beika long, right? You'll need me to give you directions, the place we're going is a little off the beaten path," she countered while she pulled on her seatbelt. "We're wasting time. How long has it been since those execution orders were given for Sato-keiji and Takagi-keiji again?"

James spared a moment to check the time even as he was pulling away from the agency. "We're closing on twenty minutes ago," he said tensely.

"Too much time," she argued back. "If this organization after them is as large and dangerous as you say, they'll soon realize they only need a few people to chase them down and will be better served to allocate their resources into small separate teams to track down everyone on this hit list of theirs before they face the fact that Sato-keiji or Takagi-keiji could already be phoning warnings to anyone they've been working with on this. We've no time to spend arguing and our timing could come down to as close as taking a single wrong turn. Turn left here," she ordered setting her purse in her lap. James sent her the occasional side glance in between her directions watching her slip on a pair of sunglasses and pulling her surprisingly long hair from her cool quaffed up-do, running her hand through her waves of light brown hair. A close look in his rearview showed him quickly how the two simple moves had drastically changed her look even making her look far younger. He gave a light grin, despite how tense the situation was he could certainly appreciate working with such a keen intellect even under pressure. She rather reminded him of the young genius who'd been helping them thus far, the strangely mature child Conan.

"There!" she said suddenly, pointing at a storefront down the road.

James looked up at the sign reading 'Baker' and looking past it into the brightly lit open storefront of pachinko machines. "This place_!_?" he asked in surprise. Eri rolled her eyes behind her shades and got out of the car amidst a heavy sigh. Slightly wary of the narrow aisles between rows of pachinko games in the shot-gun styled room that could easily allow an assailant to shoot from the sidewalk straight to the back of the store and escape before anyone could make it out of the building quickly, he followed her with a hand over his holster keeping a keen eye on any suspicious movement letting her take the main brunt of searching for the man.

"What do you think you're doing here_?_! Do you have any idea how much trouble you're causing_?_!" she yelled.

Kogoro jumped in instinctual terror at her voice in his sacred sanctum, spinning in his seat to find her stalking up on him. "E-Eri_!_?" He froze seeing her not two meters away and gaped at the rare vision of her with her hair down wearing her sunglasses. "Eri?" He recovered from his shock quickly, bringing up his full attitude of belligerence as far as she was concerned. "Shouldn't you be stuck in that office of yours? And what are you doing walking around looking like _that?_!" he griped back.

James tensed; Eri's loud shout from somewhere near the back of the arcade at the virtual mahjong machines broke his concentration quite suddenly and he turned to the pair where Eri couldn't seem to hold her temper at actually finding the man there. He cast a worried eye over the few other patrons either watching the arguing couple with annoyed glares or enjoying what must be a familiar scene in the seedy establishment of men being accosted by their angry wives. Clearing his throat conspicuously, he closed in on the two. "Kisaki-san, Mouri-san, perhaps you can continue your discussion once we're all back on the road," he suggested diplomatically.

"Who's this guy?" Kogoro asked rudely pointing a finger at the older man glaring at Eri all the while.

"I beg your pardon for not introducing myself," James responded, reaching into a pocket for his identification. "James Black, FBI. There's been an emergency of sorts and I need you both to come with me without delay."

"Huh?" Kogoro answered intelligently. "Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"

"Just come with us," Eri ordered, giving his ear another sharp tug and proceeded to drag him after her, ignoring his yelps of pain and protest. James gave another mystified throat clearing and followed after them.

* * *

Jodie rushed up the familiar steps of the professor's modern home, about to knock when she heard the sound of soft grunting noises from around the corner of the house. Drawing her gun and holding it low ready, she edged to the corner of the house and carefully hazarded a peek… to where Professor Agasa was hefting suitcases into his yellow volkswagon. With a smile of relief, she holstered her piece and turned the corner. "Agasa-hakase, I see you're planning to leave too," she said with a smile by way of greeting. Startled, the man dropped the suitcase he was currently shoving in and had to jump back to avoid his toes being crushed.

"J-Jodie-sensei! Thank goodness you're here," he greeted, abandoning the suitcase to rush her into the house through his back door.

"I had to park on the street so we should hurry," Jodie told him in hushed tones. "They know my vehicle. Where's Ran-san?" she asked, pausing in the wide openness of the home past the kitchen area as she caught sight of the neat pile of boxes by the front door and a lone suitcase. Ai sat, perched on one of the shorter stacks of boxes huddled in one of her longer coats. "Ai-chan?"

"I'm going with you," she said simply. "You'll need to go underground now that you're taking in the Mouri's and the detectives, and I have information you'll need," she insisted before the FBI agent could tell her 'no.'

Jodie smiled gently at the young girl's insistence. "You're going to leave Agasa-hakase all on his own?" she asked, crouching down to look her in the eye on her own level.

"It's safer for him that way," she answered simply, "and believe me, you will need what I know."

Jodie turned to Agasa for help at the little girl's firm demand. "Jodie-sensei, I know this is hardly the time for us to make demands of you," he began carefully, "but Ai-kun is right. After this point it may be ages before we can contact your people. She truly does need to go with you now."

"In return, I will tell you everything I know about the organization," Ai added solemnly.

"Are you sure, Ai-chan? I can't guarantee a time where we can reunite the both of you."

"The decision's been made," Ai answered with finality.

"Alright. I take it all this needs to go?" Jodie sighed and finally turned to Agasa, tossing him her keys. "If I can ask the favor Agasa-san, if you'll start loading her things, I'd appreciate it."

"Of course," the man replied, taking up Ai's lone suitcase spending a moment undoing every lock on the door Ai had previously set and bustled out the door.

"Now," Jodie started, catching Ai's attention. "Where's Ran-san? I was told she was here with you."

Ai paled but otherwise remained expressionless, pulling a key from her pocket and held it out the woman. "Downstairs," she said simply waiting just long enough for Jodie to take the key and then, taking up one of the boxes in her stack, followed Agasa out the door. Jodie watched her go slightly perplexed and then made her way cautiously for the staircase leading downstairs unsure why the child had left the task to her alone while she was so unfamiliar with the house.

Her musings were answered for her the minute she went down the stairs, hearing a consistent light banging coming from the door along with Ran's voice hoarsely calling out for the child, pleading to be let out of her confinement. "Oh dear, I see," she said aloud, rushing to unlock the door.

"Ai-chan, please… please unlock the door…"

"Ran-san_!_? Ran-san, can you hear me_!_? I'm going to unlock the door now so hang on," Jodie called through the solid door.

"J-Jodie-sensei? I… ah…Why are you… … … Sensei, please get me out of here!" Ran cried from her side of the door.

Jodie took her confusion and subsequent silence with a grim smile and worked at unlocking the double set of deadbolts, swinging open the door to find the lone teenager standing frightened in the middle of the room just outside of the door's reach. Jodie had just enough time to take in a quick assessment of the girl's state, pale and frightened out of her mind but had yet to succumb to any actual tears. "Jodie-sensei!" That moment's once-over was all she had before Ran had rushed into her arms, hugging on to her tightly. "Jodie-sensei! What's going on_!_? Ai-chan was saying my dad was in danger, and she locked me in, and she wouldn't let me out, and no one will tell me what's going on! Please take me to my dad! I have to find him! And Conan-kun and my mom!" she babbled in a rush, incapable of slowing down.

Jodie hugged her all the more tightly, tucking Ran's head against her gently. "It's all right, Ran, everything's going to be okay. Just take a deep breath and try to relax." She eased Ran out of her desperate hug and bent slightly so she could look the girl in the eye. "I want you to listen to me very carefully. I can't explain everything right now but you must do as I say. There'll be plenty of time to ask questions later, okay?" she said placing a bracing hand on each of Ran's shoulders and waiting for her responding nod of assent. She pulled her badge from her jacket pocket and held up the i.d. for Ran to study, letting go of it when Ran's stunned hands reached up to take the i.d. from her for closer study. "I've kept this from you until now, but I'm a member of the American FBI, Ran-san. I didn't come to Japan to teach or take some hiatus from my job back in the States, I'm really here to track down some very dangerous criminals. Criminals two detectives you know have also started investigating."

"…Sato-keiji… and Takagi-keiji," Ran's murmured in a still shocked voice. "Is it… about the Touto Tower Disaster?" she asked in a voice choked with a growing terror.

"…Yes," Jodie answered softly, watching her struggle to pin down her emotions and consider the implications of such information. "These people… have discovered those two detectives and have decided to get rid of them… along with anyone they might be close to, especially if they think those second parties might be dangerous to them, like…"

"..like dad," Ran finished in grim horror. Jodie gave her shoulder a squeeze before she could say anything more.

"Listen to me Ran-san. Your parents are going to be fine. My partner is bringing them in and I couldn't trust anyone more with this mission. You'll see them soon," Jodie promised. "But for now you have to come with me. I'm going to take you someplace safe. Can you do that?" she asked with tense firmness. Ran nodded hesitantly and Jodie took back her badge from Ran's numb fingers. "Okay, let's go. When we get to my car, I need you to sit in the back seat and lay down across the seat as best you can. We don't want anyone to know you're in the car," Jodie said, leading the way out of the basement.

Up on the first floor, Agasa was waiting for them with one of his raincoats in hand. "Ran-kun, wear this," he told her eyeing her identifying school uniform. He held them up until she had put on the coat and reached forward to pull the hood over her hair for her, studying her surprising calm after he and Ai had had to listen to her pitiful cries while being held prisoner. "I'm so sorry this had to happen, Ran-kun. I had hoped things would never come to this," he said holding out a sealed white envelope to her.

Ran accepted the envelope, turning it over in her hands and read the address information. It was a letter sent from the Kudo's to Agasa, from Italy in fact. "Agasa-hakase, what is this?" she asked even as Jodie was hustling her towards the front door.

"Something that may help," he answered grimly and gave her a final wave.

And she was out the door, no longer able to see him anymore and being partially dragged and pulled to the white Mercedes-Benz parked in front of the professor's front gates. She froze, digging in her heels and staring with what she couldn't quite stop from being a hurt angry glare at the little girl standing with her back against the left-side pillar of the gate, hidden from the street. Ai held her usual cool disinterested gaze on the stone of Agasa's walkway making no real acknowledgment of Ran's presence. Jodie turned at the jerk of Ran's sudden stop and silently took in the tableau in front of her.

"Ran-san, Ai-chan, we have no time for any bickering," she said urgently, frowning at whatever tiff had the two girls at odds with each other.

"But…"

"Ran-san, please don't be angry at her for locking you in that room. _I'm_ the one who ordered her not to let you leave under any circumstance," Jodie lied, abandoning them both to move past them and open her car's doors, "Now, hurry and get in. We've no idea when these people may think to check the professor's house for you once they find out you weren't in school." She gave Ran a pointed stare and Ran dismissed her glare with the girl with a reluctant huff and climbed in the backseat, Jodie shutting it after pulling the backseat lock switch. Once Ran was safely inside, Ai tugged at the hood of her own coat, ensuring her face was properly hidden, and emerged from her shadowed hiding spot, searching the streets as surreptitiously as she could to either side with the white sedan shielding her from the front and climbed in the front passenger seat, staring back at the white sunny house of windows that had been her home for over a year until Jodie's closing the door blocked most of her view. She continued to stare up at the windows of the second floor until the entire house itself was out of sight.

* * *

"Takagi-kun, how much ammo do you have left?" Sato asked, crouching low behind the wheel as another ricocheted bullet pinged off the roof of her car. She gave a curse for the cars up ahead, unassuming motorists that were soon going to be both a hindrance and a potential disaster as far as stray bullets and innocent bystanders were concerned. She floored the gas, bringing the car's center of gravity forward to pull a sharp lane change into the highway's inside emergency lane.

"One more clip," Takagi answered curtly, automatically leaning into the curve with one arm threaded around his seat's headrest while backwards on his knees in his seat. Unable to get a clear shot one-handed due to the semi's kick, he had settled into the occasional warning shot each time one of the motorcycles came close enough to return fire. Sato had used the occasional light traffic to put distance between themselves and the blue sports car though the motorcycles had no problem weaving their way after them and he was beginning to notice two small dots in the distance behind them that were slowly but steadily creeping up on them despite the near accidents and many fender-benders Sato had caused in their wake. "I think that blue car is catching up to us," he told her warily. "And another car. It might be that black Porsche again."

"Damn it," Sato ground out. "Didn't Hattori-kun say help was coming_!_?" she griped not really expecting an answer, and Takagi didn't bother trying for one, leaning out the window and making another attempt for the Harley creeping up on their front tire. "Use mine," she said between curses, swerving around another patch of traffic congestion. "I've got two more clips in my jacket pocket. The one in my gun makes three. That's all we've got so make it count," she ordered keeping both hands on the wheel but lifting an elbow, obviously expecting him to retrieve said items himself.

Takagi gulped hard, dropping back onto his seat. Keeping a close eye on her in case he had somehow misinterpreted her intentions, he reached a hand around her jacket, searching by feel in the soft material for her inner pocket. He pulled out the two loaded clips quickly with a sigh of relief and pocketed one, setting the other in the handhold depression of his door for easy access. Giving her another cautionary look, he sent his questing hand under her jacket one more time, trying for the shoulder-holster's catch and wound up brushing the outside of his pinky against warm soft fabric with something far warmer and softer underneath. Despite the danger of their situation, he froze. He could feel the heat washing up his neck and face in a strong wave all the way to the roots of his hair. "Sorry!" he squeaked, as instead of moving his hand away from her, his entire body froze solid leaving his hand right where it was and he flinched inwardly feeling Sato's frustrated?… angry?… sigh through his finger, her warm body pressing into his hand during her exhale. His flinch became outward when he felt her opposite hand grab his roughly and set his hand over her shoulder holster much higher and to the side of his earlier position.

"Right there," she bit out and he didn't dare look up to see what her face looked like right then, he just silently kept to his task of unclasping the holster and pulling her gun from it, returning to his post at the window with his heart hammering in his throat and the side of his finger burning just as hard as his face he was sure.

Settling into place keeping an eye out his open window, their back windshield being far too webbed with cracks, he took notice that the two specks were considerably closer and now recognizable as the blue and black cars they'd worried about.

"S-Sato-san? It _is_ their cars," he told her carefully, still wary of her temper. He was able to bypass actually having to look her way needing to take a few precious shots at the two motorcycles who had inched up on them during his quest for ammunition and he emptied the last few shots in his clip pushing them back.

"Shit! How far back are they?" she demanded, cursing again as a shot from one of the motorcycles took her side view mirror.

Takagi gave the two cars a studied look. "4 kilometers… I think," he guessed, no longer taking such scandalous notice of her language, that phase had long passed before they had even left Beika-cho for Tamachi-cho.

Sato winced at his estimation. "Then we're going to be in their range pretty soon," she muttered, worrying at her grip on the wheel.

"Eh?" Takagi wondered aloud in surprise.

"That blue car has rifles, remember," she rebuked lightly, almost grinning at his naïve oversight. "They're going to be in range of firing at us long before we can shoot back. And that blue car is carrying two people. We can at least keep these motorcycles too busy to shoot at us but once we're in range of those snipers…" She sighed and chanced a quick look behind them to their two passengers on the floor behind their seats. "I'm really sorry Sayuri-san. It looks like we may only be delaying the inevitable."

"It's alright, Miwako-chan. We know you did your best," Sayuri whispered back, her face pale but her voice steady and determined. "I'm just sorry the two of you had to be here in this too."

"We're not done yet," Sato muttered taking the west onramp to the large loop in Chiyoda ward where several highways met. "We might find a way to split away if we're lucky." She told them giving Takagi a look equally mixed hopeful and questioning. Regardless of his own pessimistic view of their chances, he gave her a firm nod, readjusting his position guarding from the window.

Sato gave a feral grin, noting the lines of congested traffic reaching down their ramp from the cars trying to take the east fork and swiftly rode the emergency lane around the sitting cars, the two motorcycles following close behind. "Takagi-kun, hand me my gun," she said, lowering her window. Takagi obliged, curious as to what she had planned and took control of the wheel with one hand while she concentrated on the shot coming up. As soon as they broke onto the west fork of the onramp, she shot two bullets to the grouping of plastic crash-absorbing bins lined up in front of the concrete division of the two sides, cutting loose the bins next to empty from their usual horde of water after the long summer and making the small target shot seem easy. Rocked by her shots and already situated at the top of a steep incline, the yellow barrels skidded down the street just long enough for that day's sharp wind to knock them over and start rolling down the ramp and, thanks to the curve gradient of the ramp, straight into the emergency lane they had used to cut around traffic. Sato grinned madly, tossing her gun to her partner next to her. "We've bought some time," she announced proudly, giving little mind to the two motorcycles who had only just cleared her barrel hazard before the way was plugged. "They'll have to slow down to push those barrels out of the way without taking damage," she said happily. "We've got time to try and lose them now."

Takagi grinned back, taking the break for the motorcycles to catch back up to reload a new clip and accept the gun Sato handed back and take a look around the new road they were on, the opposite side heavy with traffic while theirs was almost clear. "Sato!" he cried, quite forgetting himself and pointing straight ahead to the merging branch of highway one's second westward branch. Ahead of them, a line of cars easily matching their own high speed had emerged and the leading three had spread across the four lanes forming an uncrossable line in front of them.

"No! NO!" Sato cursed aiming for the emergency lane between the wall and the lead car. "They're not pinning us _now_!" she growled.

Catching her move, the lead car served over the line, neatly blocking her way out and braking slightly, forcing her to do the same or crash. The car in the next lane over took their drop in speed to cross in front of the lead car, the other cars taking her weakened control during her speed drop to cross their lanes into the adjoining second lane, crossing the line and locking them in place halfway into the emergency lane. "Damn it, **damn it!**" Sato almost screamed, looking into her rearview mirror just as the tail cars past the end of her car in the lane over crossed behind her, pinning her in place.

"Sato-san? Should I try shooting the driver?" he asked in an almost impossible calm considering their circumstances.

"If you hit, we'll just crash into his car," Sato growled back, "He can turn around and shoot us before we reach the next exit any second now. We're caught."

Takagi gulped and looked back to the road behind them to the distant blue and black dots growing larger and the two motorcycles currently on the opposite side of their cage… and unable to reach them. "Sato-san? I don't think…"

Next to him, Sato gasped aloud and he turned forward to the lead car in front of them… and the child waving at them through the rear windshield with a merry expression. "Conan-kun_!_?" he wondered aloud in as much shock as his partner. From the car ahead of them, Conan grinned and motioned to the side and then for them to follow. "Sato-san… I think we're…saved." Takagi mused watching the boy turn and duck back down to sit properly in his seat. Next to him, Sato just grinned in a mad mix between relief and anticipation. Alongside them, the two motorcycles made a few attempts to break the ranks of their protective escort but were both pushed back with warning shots from their protectors. Sato gave a sigh of relief watching the car in front of them turn on it's turning blinker and followed the car down the next offramp exiting the Inner Circular Route while two of the cars pining them to the wall moved from the second lane to theirs taking the place of the two exiting vehicles and blocking the exit from the two motorcycles and staying on to continue blocking exits. Sato stayed close, riding the bumper of the car ahead of them as it blew through yellow lights left and right turning on a route straight back to their Minato ward and driving, in Takagi's firm opinion, in a reckless way that reminded him awfully similar to someone he knew well. From the car ahead, Conan once more popped up into the window, studying their car with a sharp-eyed stare. They watched him turn forward to speak with whoever was driving and then sit back down out of sight again. Their leader took a quick turn into the Roppongi-cho district and ducked down the first underground parking garage they passed in the nightclub district. Exchanging a questioning look of curiosity, Sato turned to follow, trailing the car down level after level of increasingly bare floors, all the way to the bottom of the garage, normally chock full of expensive cars at night but glaringly empty in the day. Watching the car park, Sato pulled in to the passenger side of the vehicle in time to see Conan tumble onto the front seat from the back and pull down his window. She obligingly followed suit.

"Sato-keiji, is everyone okay?" Conan asked the second her window had a noticeable gap.

"Yes. We're all okay," Sato replied with a grin, finally able to relax. "Who's your friend?" she asked pointing to the man behind the wheel. Next to her, Takagi leaned over to look out her window too.

"Ah! Camel-san!" he exclaimed catching sight of the driver. "What are you doing here_?_!"

"You know him?" Sato asked curiously.

"A murder case a while back, he's Jodie-sensei's husband!" he explained in surprise.

"Umm… about that," Camel replied with a sheepish scratch behind his head. "We aren't actually married. She just told you people that to get me out of that mess. We're more like colleagues."

"Eh_!_?" Takagi exclaimed.

"This Jodie person lied to the police during a murder investigation_?_!" Sato grumbled, overriding Takagi's surprise behind her and turning a suspicious eye Takagi's way.

"**Sato-keiji!**" Conan said firmly, drawing her attention back and giving a lightly frustrated sigh. "This is _Agent_ Camel with the _FBI_. He's part of a team here to investigate _them_, and he's here to extract you. All of you need to get into _this_ car, and hurry. The rest of the team won't be able to keep Gin and Chianti on the highway for long if they still are."

"We'll just follow you then," Sato replied still looking a tad ticked off and quite impatient.

"Sato…keiji, was it? You should really get into our car," Camel called from the other side of his vehicle.

"Hurry," Conan added insistently.

Giving the child a nod, Takagi wasted no time exiting his car and turning to open the backseat… and stood stock still, staring at the car. "Sato-san, you need to look at this."

Giving an irritated huff at the man for not siding with her, Sato got out of her car grumbling all the way and turned to see what he was harping about… and stared. Her car was riddled with metal grey bulls-eye pot marks from bullets and both windshields were a sorry sight of spider-webbed cracks ringing the two sniper shots the car had taken. The car was also streaked with any number of metal grey streaks from bullet grazes. "My car!" Sato wailed softly.

From his own car, Camel was already jumping out and pulling a folded bundle of canvas material from under his seat. "All of you transfer to my car," he ordered now that the intimidating detective woman was no longer eying him suspiciously. "It's much too dangerous to drive around in this. They'll find us in no time." Obediently, Takagi helped their two passengers out, he and Toshihiko grabbing the luggage from the car. Inside Camel's car, Conan pulled the trunk lever and watched them work, unlocking the car's locks for them. Still in some kind of shock, Sato watched Takagi and the FBI agent cover her car until no sign of its red coloring was visible.

"We're just going to leave it here?" she asked Takagi glumly when he stood from smoothing down the canvas.

"Sato-san. There's no way we can drive it now. Conan-kun is right, we'll be found in minutes," he said softly, closing a hand on her arm but making no move to pull her away.

"That's my _father's_ car," she whispered sadly.

"I know," he replied softly. "And it did its job protecting your life through that chase," he said gently not even bothering to count how many of the shot marks _should_ have cost them their lives during that chase. "We have to go now." Tugging on her arm gently, he pulled her away from the Mazda and opened the front door of Camel's passenger door, waiting for Conan to back up to the car's armrest where he was just small enough to fit using it for a make-shift seat.

"Conan-kun? What are you doing mixed up in all this?" Sayuri asked from the back seat in deep concern and next to the car, both Camel and Takagi flinched unsure how to explain the little boy's presence.

Conan turned and for a moment sadly assessed his former hated teacher who's life was now irrevocably changed. "I'm really sorry all this has happened to you, sensei," he said, side-stepping the subject. "You both are going to have to go into protective custody, I don't know for how long, but the FBI is going to take good care of you." He sent Camel a meaningful look at that, who shook himself from his pause, he had actually been interested in what the kid was going to say being curious himself how the child was not only involved in all this but appeared to have his two superior's ears and full confidence. Following after him, Takagi entered the backseat, he and Toshihiko sandwiching Sayuri between them for safety.

Closing the subject of Sayuri's questions and certainly refusing to answer any more, Conan waited just long enough for Camel to start the car to gently place a hand on Sato's shoulder to draw her away from watching her car growing smaller as they left it behind. "Sato-keiji? I need to tell you and Takagi-keiji something, it's important," he said pouring in all the wide-eyed innocent childishness that usually brought Sato under his influence almost on pure reflex without even noticing the odd look Camel was giving him.

"What is it, Conan-kun?" she responded with a depressed sigh, the high adrenalin surge of the last half hour beginning to wane and turned away from the window to face Mouri's young ward looking up at her with concern. From the backseat, Takagi leaned forward tensely, noting the worried expression on the boy's face.

"You're not going to like this, but the both of you are also going into protective custody. Camel-san is taking us to the FBI's headquarters at the Haido City Hotel and you're going into protective custody from there," Conan told them, his expression sliding right back into his usual sharp-eyed look of mature intelligence.

"What_?_!" Sato exclaimed, her car forgotten, at least for the moment, rounding on the child.

"Conan-kun? Has something happened?" Takagi asked in concern, well used to that particular hawk-like look of Conan's.

"The organization has just placed execution orders for you both, and for anyone associated with you. They know you both have been becoming a problem and your stepping into their elimination plans just now made up their minds," he explained to his wide-eyed stunned audience.

Sato was the first to recover her senses. "Take us back to Takagi-kun's apartment!" she ordered, rounding on Camel next to Conan. "Please! And hurry!"

"I can't do that Miss Sato-san, it would be much too dangerous. My orders are to bring you all to our headquarters," Camel said, turning back onto the road.

"You don't understand! Yamato-keibu and Uehara-keiji are still there along with all the evidence we've collected! We have to go back!" Sato insisted.

"Wait, we have more people?" Camel asked in worry. Whatever plea she or Takagi were about to make next was drowned out by the crackle of Camel's walkie-talkie, sitting on the dashboard, coming to life.

"_This is Agent Starling, reporting in. Target acquired, plus one more. Agent Camel, Agent Kriss, what's your status?_" Next to Sato, Conan shut his eyes and gave a deep heartfelt sigh of relief, smiling for the first time since they'd driven into the garage.

"_This is Agent Kriss at home base. Michaels and Jameson have already reported in successful extractions on both counts. They're already en route to the safe house._"

"_This is James. Targets acquired, en route to base. Has Agent Camel reported in?_"

"Here, boss," Camel replied, answering his walkie-talkie. "Sato-keiji and Takagi-keiji are safe along with the people they were transporting."

"Matsumoto-keishi's daughter and son-in-law," Conan whispered helpfully. "The FBI have both your parents in custody," he told Sato in a hushed voice, lowering his eyes at the shock of emotions he saw running through her own at his words as he realized neither of them had likely realized yet the depth of what their actions had truly sparked.

"Matsumoto-keishi's daughter and son-in-law," he repeated. "And Detective Sato has put in a request to return to Detective Takagi's home. They have evidence to recover along with two more detectives."

"_Conan-kun, what do you think_," Jodie asked over the line. "_You have the best idea of what kind of timetable we're looking at. Is there time?_" From the backseat Sayuri and Toshihiko stared in shocked surprise at the seven-year-old accepting the heavy duty walkie-talkie almost the length of his forearm from the FBI agent, apparently just as much a part of the operation as the grown man. Takagi watched him with veiled suspicion but with no smidge of surprise at the move and noted Sato was watching the child with a similar mindset.

"If we're going to do it, we should go now," Conan answered. "I believe Yamato-keibu and his partner already have an idea of what's going on. They should be in the process of packing up but we can help them get out faster. Now that the organization lost us, we have a chance they might assume Sato-keiji would take Matsumoto-keishi's daughter to the nearest source of large-scale help she would know of. That's the Chiyoda Metropolitan Police Station just off the Inner Circular Loop but they'll try their places of residence after that."

"_Is there a chance we'll need to bring in this Yamato-keibu and his partner?_" Jodie asked.

Conan turned to Sato and Takagi in questioning and Takagi nodded back to him. "They know just as much as we do. If there's any chance these people might link them to us, it's safer if they come with us at least until we can find out if they've been discovered like us," he said in quick hushed tones, Sato nodding along with his logic, while Conan absorbed his words.

"Yes, we're taking them," Conan answered quickly.

"_Then hurry_," Jodie said. "_I'll send you back-up._"

"No! A convergence of vehicles at that apartment complex would stand out if they have anyone watching. If Yamato-keibu and his partner aren't ready to leave yet, we'll be shortening whatever time we have," Conan responded.

"_That's awfully risky, Conan-kun_," James answered, joining the conversation.

"_Chief Black! This is Kriss from home base. I just took a count and it's looking like we have a problem. Even if we assume the kid's friends aren't joining us, we have thirteen extracts headed for the safe house. We can't accommodate that many!"_

"_Damn it! We never expected we would need to hold that many_," Jodie responded.

"She's right," Camel told the boy next to him in a low voice. "It's just a small hidden house in the middle of nowhere in Chiba."

"So we need a bigger place?" Conan asked him just as softly, making a mental run-through of his parent's summer homes in Japan. They both started somewhat hearing a static-filled argument of sorts over the wire.

"_-ust gimmie that!_" Heiji's voice came over the speaker amidst Agent Kriss's protests coming through in the background. "_Jodie-han! If ya give me a minute, I think I can arrange us a place with plenty of room. I just need ta make a quick call, hang on!_"

"In the mean time, lets get these detectives to their apartment," Camel said, flooring the gas.

* * *

Inspector Otaki's eyebrows climbed into his hairline staring at the screen of his ringing cell phone. Giving a furtive look around the room, he ducked low at his desk behind his computer monitor and hesitantly answered the call.

"Otaki-han!"

"Hei-chan! It _is_ you!" The Osakan inspector dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper giving the room a quick sweep after his loud volume. "Where have you been_?_! Your father is livid! He said you haven't been to school or home for _three days_!"

"Not now. I need ya to sign out the mansion for me," Heiji said in a rushed voice.

"Hei-chan! I can't just…"

"It's an emergency! This is a matter of life or death! Ya gotta do it for me!" he insisted.

"Hei-chan! …f-fine, but if your father finds out about this…"

"Don't worry, I'll take the rap for it," Heiji insisted, "Can ya have the keys waitin' for me? I'll be there in about three and a half hours. And don't tell _anyone_ about this, okay?"

"Hei-chan…are you in Tokyo?"

"Thanks Otaki-han."

Detective Otaki frowned at the steady beeping coming over the phone. "That boy is going to drive me insane someday," he muttered pulling up the register of Osaka Police Department's safe houses.

He pushed back on his rolling chair, preparing to heft himself up and pick up the keys from inventory. He froze when he realized who had been standing behind him. "Ah…Toyama-keibu! How-how long have you been standing there?"

The much taller police inspector gave him a wide grin. "Finally heard from Hei-chan have you? So, what does the little troublemaker want this time?"

"Uh… n-nothing? Nothing, j-just saying 'hi,'" Otaki replied with a self-conscious guilty stammer.

"And 'nothing' involved commandeering our best safe house?" Toyama asked with the sly grin of one who has caught his victim mid-lie. Otaki wisely shut his mouth. "Come on, Heizou wants to talk to you."

Otaki followed the inspector fully aware that he was once more the subject of the room's amusement. He sighed as he was led to the same private office he always found himself in each time Heizou's impetuous son got him in trouble.

"Otaki-kun." Hattori Heizou gestured to the chair in front of his desk and watched the guilty looking man sit down gingerly. "You've had word from my son? What does that foolish boy want this time that he feels he needs to disrupt my department?"

"Ah nothing…much really," the detective stalled, trying to think of an excuse that would keep both Heiji and himself out of trouble.

"And this nothing seems to have my son thinking he has the right to use this department's private assets whenever he pleases?" Hattori asked darkly, turning his flat-screen monitor for the inspector to see.

Otaki took a peek at the screen seeing his own computer's activity and request to inventory from not five minutes ago. "You were… monitoring me, sir?"

"Are you kidding? He's been monitoring your station since Hei-chan skipped out three days ago," Toyama said with a light laugh from where he was leaning against the office door, blocking Otaki's escape. "We figured he'd contact you eventually."

"My son is nothing if not predictable," Hattori added, leaning his elbows on his desk and lacing his fingers. "Why is he asking for use of the Takado mansion?"

"I-I don't know, he just said it was a matter of life or death," Otaki admitted, withering under the stern glare of the darkly silent Hattori.

"Can you tell me where my son has been?" Hattori asked over his laced fingers.

"I think maybe Tokyo?" Otaki hazarded a guess.

"So, he's gotten himself tied up with some business of that Sleeping Kogoro person or that Kudo boy he knows," Hattori mumbled turning back to his computer and the request for use of the mansion from Otaki's computer. "Toyama-kun, I want you to put in requests for use of four more safe houses, the choice is yours, just make them randomly spread out geographically over the city. And be ready to leave in twenty minutes, we'll wait for that son of mine at the mansion and get to the bottom of this."

"Yes, sir," his long-time friend and partner answered with a grin, quietly exiting the room.

"Otaki-kun, you're dismissed. If my son contacts you again, I expect you to report it to me immediately."

"Y-Yes sir," the detective answered with a sigh of relief that he wasn't in any major trouble. Giving his superior a final look, he opened the door to slip back out to his desk.

"Otaki-kun…"

The man froze in the doorway, looking back to the stern man with his head down, still writing. "It would be appreciated if you didn't inform my son we had this conversation."

"Yes, sir," Otaki answered, closing the door behind himself and trying not to feel guilty about handing an uninformed Heiji over to his father.

* * *

"_Jodie-han!_"

Conan perked up, his attention drawn from watching the road back to the walkie-talkie he was holding hearing Heiji's voice back on the line.

"_If ya don't mind a long drive, I've got us a place to go!_" Heiji said in a tight serious voice. "_I have a safe house for us to use in Osaka! It's big enough to hold as many as you need_," he told her. "_Just say the word._"

"_James?_" Jodie asked, seeking his decision.

"_We'll take the offer_," James said decisively. "_Tokyo is going to be too hot for us to stay anyhow. The minute the organization finds their targets have all gone missing, they'll logically assume we had something to do with it and come looking for us._"

"_Alright_," Jodie answered. "_Camel-kun! I want Matsumoto-keishi's family in _our_ safehouse along with the families of those two detectives. Once this mess is sorted, I want you to take charge of breaking down h.q. James and I are going straight to Osaka from here, we're carrying precious cargo and we can't afford to be spotted. We don't know what kind of means the organization has to try and track us and our vehicles might already be known to them. Give Johnson, Yokokura, Smith, and Wright the equipment they need to set up a full skeleton team at our safe house, tell them they're part of Steven's team from now on. Kriss, start packing up, I want everyone and everything else moved to Osaka. Hattori-kun, you can give them the location._"

"_Sure thing, Jodie-han_," Heiji answered from over Kriss's shoulder.

"_The detectives and the Mouri family will be going with us to Osaka_," Jodie finished. "_Is everyone clear?_"

"Got it," Camel answered, and turned the walkie-talkie's volume down a smidge, handing it back to Conan. "You be in charge of that, kid." Conan nodded and pressed an ear to the walkie-talkie's speaker, keeping track of the continuing chatter and ignoring the odd look Sato had been giving him since he had started his conversation with Jodie.

"The next left," Takagi spoke up softly from the backseat, somewhat intimidated by the close conversations passing between the boy and so many FBI agents. He directed the FBI agent into his apartment's parking lot in time to see Uehara coming down the stairs with a large bundle that looked like his bed's comforter. She hesitated on the stairs noticing their approach and from near his car, Yamato stood up, previously unseen, from the front end of his car with a hand inside his jacket at his holster. Inside the car, Sato was already opening the door before they had even stopped.

"Sato-keiji." Yamato lowered his hand and gave the vehicle a nod. "Where's your car? And who's this guy?" he asked giving Camel a nod from where he was exiting his own car and stepping aside for Conan following him out. Takagi made his way for the stairs where Uehara was still standing watching them.

"It's a long story," Sato muttered, eyeing his car's open trunk already loaded with several luggage bags including the gym bag from Shindou's apartment. "The evidence?" she asked, begging confirmation.

"We're almost done. The two of you should do a final sweep in case we missed anything," he answered. Sato gave him a nod and took off for the stairs where Uehara was handing over Takagi's comforter wrapped computer tower to him. Yamato watched her go for a moment and gave the street a close sweep, finally returning his gaze to Camel. "And you are?"

"Agent Camel, FBI," he answered holding a hand out. Yamato shook his hand with an arched eyebrow and then spotted Conan standing near the man's legs.

"So you're in the thick of all this, huh kid?" he mused.

Conan returned his gaze fiercely and unapologetically. "Are you and Uehara-keiji going into protective custody with Sato-keiji and Takagi-keiji?" he asked without preamble.

"Yes. We're going with them," Yamato returned firmly in case anyone had any ideas about arguing him out of it. Conan gave him a nod and backed away from them, pulling out his cell.

"The FBI, huh?" Yamato started, turning to the agent. "You're a little out of your way. What are you doing in Japan?"

"Fighting the same enemy by the looks of it?" Camel answered carefully, recognizing the man's territorial probing for what it was.

"Just how long has the American FBI known this underground group has been working here in Tokyo? Without letting any of _us_ know?" Yamato demanded, his temper edging into his voice.

"I'm afraid I'm not allowed to discuss the case without permission," Camel hedged with a stubborn set of his jaw.

"We don't have time for any arguing over jurisdiction," Conan piped up testily from near Yamato's knee. "Here," he told the man, holding up a piece of paper torn from a discarded receipt he'd found in Camel's car. "This is the address of the safe house. Everyone is relocating there," he told the Nagano inspector. "You need to leave as soon as possible. The organization will be starting a dragnet of the city looking for Takagi-keiji and Sato-keiji soon," he said with a nod to Takagi's car. "Especially if you plan on taking that."

"Yeah, yeah. We got it kid," Yamato sighed giving the child a firm glare and giving the bandages peeking out from under his hastily donned overlarge ski cap a serious onceover. "I got questions for you when this is all over," he said, putting the boy on notice.

"You and everybody else," Conan muttered under his breath, walking back to Camel's car. He gave the agent's pants leg a tug on his way. "We need to get sensei and Toshihiko-san to the hotel."

"Shouldn't we wait until these guys take off?" Camel asked curiously.

"_They_ know your face from the operation with Kir. You shouldn't be seen here. They'll be safer if we're gone," Conan responded. "Can you leave in the next ten minutes?" he asked Yamato.

"We're ready to leave as soon as they come out," he answered with a nod to Takagi's apartment door.

"Good. Lets go," Conan said, pulling on Camel's leg again to guide him back to the car.

"Alright, kid," Camel answered with the hint of an amused sigh at the child ordering him around. "See you guys in Osaka then," he said to Yamato, following Conan into his car.

"Osaka_!_?" Yamato exclaimed in surprise.

* * *

Heiji shut his phone and pocketed it. "Kriss-han, did you get the address?" he asked after his conversation with Conan.

"Yes, I'll transmit it to Agent Starling and the chief," the communications specialist answered, picking up his quick note of the address he'd jotted down. Heiji gave him a nod and threaded his way out of the confusion of agents scurrying about the room, breaking down and packing up several month's worth of research and equipment until he reached the relatively quiet spot against the wall Hakuba had claimed and sank down in the chair Conan had tossed his borrowed clothes on until he'd left and gave a sigh of nervous energy. He joined the blonde watching the FBI agents pack until he turned back to Hakuba with a confused look on his face.

"Where's Kuroba?" Heiji asked curiously.

"Probably finding the hotel's safe since we're here anyway," Hakuba muttered with an aggravated snort from his position, leaning against the wall.

"I didn't even see him go," Heiji mused, ignoring Hakuba's snide tone.

"What a surprise," Hakuba sighed sarcastically, equally ignoring Heiji's glare. "All I know is he better turn up soon. We have a lot to pack up back at his house and we need to leave here soon." Heiji gave a nod of agreement and slumped back in his chair to wait.

* * *

Shiratori frowned, trying to decide whether or not to turn on his siren and tapped a finger impatiently on his steering wheel, waiting for the light to turn green.

Division One's squad room had been in an uproar of barely controlled chaos the moment reports started filtering in about the shooting the news media was now dubbing a massacre downtown and rumors about the possibility of Superintendent Matsumoto being a possible victim had them all working on edge, especially around the anxiety-stricken Megure who was shouting angrily over the bedlam in their office, organizing the investigation. They even had unsubstantiated rumors of a high speed car chase through town involving the use of firearms. And through it all, no one knew where Sato or Takagi were… and neither were answering their cell phones. Once Megure had learned they never reported in that morning, he had sent him off to find the two and he was quite sure if he didn't find them soon, Megure would be demoting them both back to directing traffic. Personally, his own stomach had knotted itself quite tightly at the news. It was just too close on the heels of the restaurant shooting for his particular comfort and he feared the two of them and their secret investigation was somehow involved and for the first time, he was desperately hoping Yumi's suggestion they had finally eloped was true.

An impatient honk behind him alerted him to the light's new color and he punched his gas, pealing out from the intersection and down onto the block Takagi's apartment was located on. If they weren't there, he resolved himself to drive all the way to Haido-cho and try Sato's apartment next.

He drove into Takagi's parking lot just as Sato and a familiar looking woman were rushing down the stairs with their arms full carrying a perfectly good futon between them both and carrying the heavy load to the apartment's dumpster. On the second floor landing, he could see Takagi locking up what must be his door and following after them. He frowned watching their actions from his car as he pulled up and parked in an empty spot nearest Takagi's Nissan.

/

"Sure you have everything?" Yamato called to Takagi, rushing down the stairs tucking the thick stapled envelope of discs into his jacket pocket.

"Even if we don't, we've been here too long. We need to go," Takagi answered back, making it to level ground. He shot a fast look to the girls on their way back from the dumpster. "Sato-san, are you all right?" he asked watching Sato rubbing her left forearm.

"I'm fine," she replied in a distracted voice, wringing out her hand. "Just heavier than I thought." Takagi gave a nod, accepting her answer and turned back in time to catch the keys Yamato tossed him.

"We're switching cars," Yamato informed him, noting Takagi's confused expression.

"We can't let you do that! They'll be looking for us by now," Sato exclaimed in protest.

"Exactly why the two of you will be safer in a car they're not expecting," the Nagano inspector replied, holding his hand out for Takagi's keys. "Besides, I know what kind of a risk this is, that's why I took precautions," he grinned rakishly, tapping Takagi's back bumper with his crutch. The two Beika-cho detectives looked down following the point of his crutch to the license plate, an entirely different license plate than the one issued to Takagi's car. Takagi blinked at the change and Sato grinned realizing the trick.

"Which car did you take those off of?" she asked curiously with an air of approval.

"The minivan in the back end of your parking lot," Yamato answered trying not to look too proud of his petty law breaking. "Your tank's filled up too but I'm sure a few of these car owners are going to complain about it so we have more than one reason to get going already."

"Here, you two should use these," Uehara cut in, handing Sato two pairs of sunglasses from their glove box. "Your keys?" she asked expectantly to Takagi.

Still unsure of the decision, Takagi hesitantly pulled the ring from his pocket and half held out his hand trying to think better of it. It was the opportunity Yamato needed to make a quick grab for them and toss them to Uehara. "Alright, lets get going," he muttered, "We've got a long dri…" He trailed off noticing their audience for the first time with Shiratori exiting his car and staring at them from over the top of his car.

"Sato-san? Takagi-kun? Just what is going on here_!_?" Shiratori asked looking in the windows of the two cars with loaded backseats. "Going somewhere? It's awfully bad timing don't you think? Don't you two know what's been going on downtown_!_?" he growled out with increasing volume and a deepening stare. "And aren't you a little out of jurisdiction Yamato-keibu_!_?"

"A-Ah! Shiratori-san!" Takagi stammered in shocked dismay.

"Shiratori-kun, you shouldn't be here," Sato exclaimed in tense worry, shooting the streets a quick search. "You need to leave, _now_," she said urgently.

"Why? What's going on?" Shiratori asked suspiciously, sweeping his gaze between the four of them. His gaze fell on the streak of red across Takagi's cheek and his wildly windblown hair and Sato's suit jacket had the odd shine of sunlight reflecting off pale green flecks covering her clothes. The longer he stared, the more Takagi felt the nervous need to fidget. "…it was you two… wasn't it?" he asked in a low still voice.

Sato pressed her lips firmly together in a stern line, unwilling to fall into blushing stammering like Takagi next to her. "Shiratori-kun, I wish we could explain, but that would be much too dangerous. You need to turn around and go back to the precinct and pretend this conversation never happened, in fact, you never saw us."

"Sato-san…"

"Please, Shiratori-kun," she pleaded, cutting off whatever he planned on saying next. "Just stay out of this and keep by Megure-keibu's side… for us, okay?" she finished with a spark of her usual brilliant smile. She took the opportunity of his ensuing silence to open the passenger door of Yamato's car and climb in. "Come on, Takagi-kun. Yamato-keibu. The clock's ticking."

Yamato and Uehara broke from their frozen stances and jumped into Takagi's car, turning the engine and backing out of his space. Shiratori turned his gaze on Takagi still standing at his door. "Takagi-kun…" he called, drawing the junior detective's attention before he could get in his own door.

Takagi looked up, catching the firm serious expression on his face. "I know, Shiratori-san… I'll keep her safe," he promised with an honestly grave expression of his own. Catching Shiratori's acknowledging nod, he climbed into the car and shut the door. Shiratori stood silent, watching the grey sedan leave the parking lot and disappear into the street's traffic. Giving a frustrated sigh, he got back into his car wondering what kind of explanation he was going to give Megure about their disappearance.

* * *

Conan strained with a dismal whine, trying to reach the right button for the floor in the elevator with the heavy oversized coat weighing him down in addition to barely healed injuries. He'd left Camel with an agent who's name he couldn't remember to sort out shifting the superintendent's family into a new vehicle ready to leave with the first wave of equipment for the FBI's safe house to reach the room ahead of him but was now finding Camel was probably going to catch up with him before he got the elevator going. He'd been lucky enough when he'd first arrived to ask a nice elderly couple who got on with him to push the button for him. Now, he couldn't even hit the button to open the doors again. He was almost ready to sit down against the back wall and sulk when the doors opened and he had to back up for the hotel staff member walking in with plastic wrapped hangers of clothes, fresh from the hotel's laundry room.

"Excuse me, mister. But can you hit the button for floor two?" he asked in as cute and small a childish voice he could manage.

"Sucks being such a shrimp, huh?" an irritatingly familiar voice sounded above his head.

Flinching, and already feeling his frustrated mood drop, he looked up to see Kaito grinning down at him in the well-pressed black slacks, white dress shirt and trim vest the rest of the bellhop staff of the hotel was wearing. He gave a low sigh, dropping the cute act like a ton of bricks. "What are you up to now?" he muttered. "You better not be causing trouble, we have enough as it is," he griped.

"Just thinking ahead," Kaito smiled, reaching over his head to press their floor button. Conan sighed again and settled into following Kaito's legs back to the FBI's suite. With a glum look around the room, he tallied up the work the agents had already put in packing up their equipment in the half empty room.

"There you are! You can't just take off without giving us notice, especially at a time like this!" Hakuba scolded, stalking up on the thief with his collection of hangers slung over his shoulder where he stopped and looked the thief's clothing change up and down. "You just can't help yourself, can you. It's like a disease. You just _have_ to cause trouble!"

"What were ya doing?" Heiji asked in genuine curiosity vacating his chair and walking up to the group. "Good thing you're back, Kudo. We need ta find a way to get ourselves to Osaka along with that computer hard drive. Sato-keiji paid my ticket here on the Shinkasen so maybe we can ask one of the agents here ta give us a ride," he suggested.

"Don't worry about getting to Osaka, I've got that covered," Kaito said, brushing past them towards the suite's bathroom, unbuttoning his vest as he went and clearly expecting them to follow while he kept talking. "What we have to worry about is getting back to my house without anyone being able to identify us. I'm assuming the organization has people who work for them all over the city in everyday jobs besides their top agents and hitmen, right?" he asked Conan down near his hip. Conan nodded, curious to where he was going with his conversation. Kaito reached down and tugged the ski cap off Conan's head and tossed it to Hakuba. "If the Mouri's are currently on their hit list, we certainly can't let you run around town while we get back to Ekoda. Someone might spot you. And you've been in enough newspaper articles and on the news enough that even normal people might recognize you and they'll be able to track you down. A blonde teenager in an Ekoda High School uniform is much too identifying, that's for sure. And _I_ look way too much like the tall you that I might draw attention too. So…" He dropped one of the hanger hooks through the plastic, pulling out a child-sized set of clothes and held it out to the boy.

"No. No way!" Conan announced firmly in an arms-crossed full pout staring at the taffeta ruffly dress with tiny rosebuds, with a matching magenta beret and white tights staring him in the face.

"I'm going to need to borrow that hat of yours," Kaito asked of Heiji over Conan's head, completely ignoring the boy's vehement protests. "Hakuba, you'll need to wear this," he continued patting Conan's shoulder, indicating the overgrown jacket. "It might be a little small but I think you can manage it, at least until we reach my house. Here. Hurry up and change," he muttered, pushing the hanger into Conan's hands. As soon as his hand was free again, he pulled a pair of shiny black dress shoes, one from each pocket and dumped them on the floor at Conan's feet. "Those should fit you. We'll carry your real shoes and clothes so hurry up." He turned straight to Hakuba and dropped another hanger from the plastic covering and handed him a pair of still warm from the iron jeans. "Here. Your pant legs scream school uniform. The last thing we need is to be stopped by any truant officers."

"You want me to wear some stranger's pants_!_?" Hakuba exclaimed in protest, his face twisted in disgust at the idea.

"Then wear them _over_ yours. Come on, and be fast about it," Kaito ordered, uncovering the last hanger with his own neatly hung clothes. "You've got the restroom," he told Conan, backing back out of the room and claiming the dining room for himself, shutting the doors on them and leaving Conan and Hakuba sharing sighs of sulking and exasperation.

"I'll just wait out here," Heiji mused aloud, retreating before Conan could notice the thoroughly amused laughter he was trying to hide and kick him for it.

Conan and Hakuba exchanged a frustrated look and Conan finally shed the jacket to the ground, slinging the hanger over a shoulder and marching for the frosted glass shower stall, shutting it with a slam that vibrated its walls.

/

"Isn't he ready yet?" Kaito asked Hakuba who was struggling to zip up the tight jacket outside the restroom.

Hakuba shrugged finally giving up on the zipper. "I don't think this is going to work," he muttered dropping his arms for Kaito's inspection.

"Fine," Kaito answered with a sigh, retreating back into the dining room and emerging with a black hoodie on a hanger.

"Why didn't you give me that from the start?" Hakuba griped, handing over the too small jacket and pulling the hoodie over his head. Kaito ignored his complaints looking over the small jacket in his hands quietly, the last one his father had bought for him even though it was too big, he'd wanted it so badly for all the hidden zippered pockets the thing had, inside and out, with the sworn promise he would use it faithfully all through junior high without asking for another one until he'd outgrown it. Before he could think too much more about it, he shoved it in the pillowcase he'd already snagged from one of the suite's bedrooms along with the staff uniform he'd borrowed to be slung down the staff laundry shoot the minute they left.

"Come on! Aren't you done yet_!_?" he called in a loud voice through the bathroom door with a knock.

"I don't like this!" Conan yelled back.

"We don't care," Kaito returned, sighing in relief when he finally heard the door unlock, pulling it open to find the sullen boy glaring up at him with the back of the dress halfway done up and the beret in his hands glaring at them all with his shirt and shorts in a pile at his feet. Behind him, Heiji made a choking sound that had a suspicious Conan shooting daggers at him. Even Hakuba was making suspicious sounds and trying to find somewhere else to look. Kaito just sighed at the bedraggled sight Conan made and pointed a finger, ordering him back in and to climb onto the covered toilet. Setting down a borrowed makeup bag from one of the female agents, he made a twirling motion with a finger and finished doing up the back of the dress and pulled a ribbon from his pocket, physically turning Conan's shoulder until the kid was facing sideways.

"Where'd you get _that_?" Conan asked in mild curiosity, making a sour face when Kaito grabbed his head and chin, fixing him in place at an appropriate tilt for him to gather enough of Conan's short hair to tie the ribbon onto.

"I pulled it off a peasant blouse in the laundry room," he murmured, finishing off the bow. He took the beret from Conan's hands and set it on his head, angling the thing so it swallowed and hid the ringlet of bandages. "Now hold still," he ordered, unzipping the bag and digging through his make-shift supplies.

"Makeup_!_?" Conan whined, eyeing the loaded blush applicator Kaito was bringing his way.

"Just wearing a dress doesn't make you look like a girl," he muttered, taking hold of Conan's chin and angling it. "Now I mean it, hold still." Conan rolled his eyes at the snickers coming from behind the thief and he could just make out Heiji's back where he was bent against the door, his shoulders shaking from repressed laughter. "Don't think the two of you are getting off," Kaito called over his shoulder to the two laughing detectives. "I plan on adding another five years on the rest of us so just stay there and wait your turn." It was Conan's turn to smirk victoriously at the scowls on Heiji and Hakuba's faces. "Quit moving," Kaito ordered, giving Conan a firm flick to his ear.

"OW!"

* * *

Conan fairly raced, well, limped quickly, past Kaito's legs the second the door was open plopping down on the stairs to unstrap and yank off the shiny mary janes, devil-made narrow-toed things. "How do girls_ wear_ these things!" he howled, flinging them into the dining room opposite him and massaging his injured toes, now doubly swollen from the cursed girl-shoes with no support. His complexion was still hinged towards pink that had nothing to do with the light layer of blush Kaito had put on him after his aching toes had Heiji _carrying_ him off the subway piggyback and the rest of the trip by bus as well with Kaito grinning madly and snapping the occasional cell phone photo the entire way, despite the seriousness of their situation, and he mentally cursed every single person along the way who'd commented on how 'kind' his 'big brother' was to look after his 'little sister'.

"Try fifteen centimeter stilettos," Kaito replied struggling to control the manic urge to laugh at the boy's complaining.

"Not on your life," Conan muttered, trudging upstairs. Kaito just grinned as they all heard the slam of Kaito's bathroom door and the light whine of the house's pipes from the running sink.

"I got downstairs!" Heiji announced squeezing past them and running for the downstairs restroom. Outmaneuvered, Hakuba walked into the kitchen, grabbing a clean towel from a drawer and quickly got to work, scrubbing the make-up off his own face. Behind him, Kaito hopped up onto the counter patiently waiting his turn and casting an assessing look around the room.

"You said you had our way to Osaka covered?" Hakuba asked, drying off his face. "What did you mean by that?"

"We can take my mom's car," Kaito answered lightly, jumping off the counter to take his turn at the sink.

"You _do_ realize we're underage, right?" Hakuba reminded in a droll voice. "Not that _you _care."

"You know me so well," Kaito mused aloud while he soaped his hands with a secret grin and a touch of sarcasm.

"Fake i.d.?" Hakuba asked, leaning back against the counter.

"That's the general idea," Kaito answered, drying his face. "Come on, we have to load whatever we have and get out of here," he muttered, tossing the towel into the laundry room and making for the stairs. "We can stop by your place on the way out so you can pack if you're really coming with us."

"No need," Hakuba answered smoothly, "I'll buy clothes when we get there." Kaito raised an eyebrow but let the subject be, climbing the stairs to his room and started pulling cables from the back of Hakuba's computer.

"What do you think, take both?" Kaito asked in all seriousness.

"It's unlikely they'll connect your normal identity to anything, but better safe than sorry," Hakuba mused, crouching down to lift his heavy tower. Kaito lifted his own and led the way down the stairs, setting his computer on a counter to fish a set of keys out of a junk drawer.

"Mind if I put you in charge of loading things up?" he asked, continuing on the laundry room and opening the back door, flipping a switch. Hakuba blinked in surprise at the sleek silver Jag in front of him.

"…wow," Hakuba murmured, hanging in the doorway while Kaito opened the trunk and unlocked the doors. "_That's_ you mother's car_!_?"

"It's _not_ stolen," Kaito said automatically, almost on reflex, frowning at the blonde.

"I never said it _was_," Hakuba muttered back testily. "I just never imagined your family would drive British." Kaito held his frown for a moment more and then set the keys down on the roof of the car.

"She just _had_ to have one 'cause one of her best friends had one," Kaito murmured, turning back to the car. "No real reason beyond that. Here. I have things in 'the room' that need to come with us," he said in a low voice, ducking back out of the room.

Upstairs, a freshly dressed and make-up-less Conan tugged his suitcase from its home out from under the bed, grabbing the pajamas he'd discarded around the floor, shoving them in. A quick double check made sure his father's credit card was where it was supposed to be, tucked into one of the small zippered pouches. He made quick work of repacking his gadgets, tucking away his bowtie and watch quickly enough. Finished with that, he knelt by the bag and slowly searched around the room for anything else that could become useful now that everything he had left in the apartment was lost to him. He imagined his skateboard would soon be in organization hands once they tossed the apartment and agency and he was _very_ grateful Kaito hadn't forgotten his Shonen Tantei badge. He ran a finger over the edge of the pin and hoped against hope the organization would make no move against the children. A thumping sound from downstairs shook him from his musings and he chided himself for wasting time unnecessarily. Back to his searching, his eyes fell on Kaito's bookshelf. Hesitating only seconds, he sprang up from the floor and swept up as many of the thick Night Baron novels he could carry, shoving them into the suitcase.

Two armloads later and he was shoving the first volume into the side zippers. "Kudo, ya need help with anything?" Heiji asked from the doorway. Conan shut the zipper and turned to face him feeling oddly out of phase, the reality of the scenario starting to crash down on him as he looked up at the concern in Heiji's eyes despite his light tone.

"…yeah… Yeah. I'm fine," Conan answered, looking away and running a hand through his hair. "All packed." Eyeing him oddly, Heiji walked in and hefted the canvas suitcase's strap onto his shoulder, raising an eyebrow.

"What ya put in here_!_?" Heiji exclaimed, walking for the door. "It weighs a ton!"

"Stuff," Conan answered noncommittally, following him out. "_I_ could have carried it," he added crabbily.

"Nah, you'd just pull your arm out of its socket. I got it Kudo," Heiji answered, waiting in the doorway long enough for Conan to limp out and walk ahead of him.

"Where are my shoes?" Conan asked, wincing with each step on his way to the stairs. His foot had been throbbing when they'd left that morning and after wearing those infernal shoes, the slightest flex of his toes was sheer agony. His mincing steps were so slow, he wasn't all that surprised when Heiji picked him up one-handed by the back of his shirt. "… … …thanks," he mumbled in the most sullen voice possible, being hoisted along, down the steps, like a rag doll.

"Right there," Heiji said, plopping him down on the carpet of the living room in front of his discarded shoes. "But I don't think you should put them on for a while. Just wait there and I'll get ya when we're done packing," he said, walking off into the kitchen and out of sight.

Sulking slightly that his injuries and diminutive size were forcing him to be left out, Conan gathered his shoes and slipped on the one for his uninjured foot… and watched the others work.

Heiji made one last trip upstairs for his own backpack and from then on, worked alongside Hakuba carrying file boxes from the blonde detective's horde in the dining room and the long heavy-duty tackle boxes Kaito was bringing up from his hidden room and leaving stacked outside the open painting door. "How much are you taking_?_!"Conan asked the next time Kaito popped out of the room.

Kaito raised an eyebrow staring at the boy where he was sitting nursing his toes. "Taking a break, princess?" he asked teasingly, trying not to grin at the face Conan made. Conan was highly tempted to throw his shoe at the thief.

"Provisions."

"Provisions?' Conan asked in confusion.

"I'm pretty sure you and the Mouri's weren't planning on abandoning your lives today but I happen to have experience living in a situation where you might have to leave on a moment's notice. You guys will need all this," he answered.

"Oh… right," Conan replied, making the glum realization that the suitcase Heiji had taken for him was now all he owned. Things were starting to feel very overwhelming. Kaito caught the boy's brooding expression and sighed, pausing in his own work.

"It's gonna be okay, Kudo," he said with a clearing of his throat, drawing the boy's attention. "Nothing you did caused this," he said, leaning over the top of his stack of tackle boxes.

"It's more like what I didn't do," Conan returned angrily yanking his laces as loose as he could on his remaining shoe. "I knew Sato-keiji and Takagi-keiji were looking into things. I should have warned them sooner! I just… I never imagined they were this far along!" he bit out, trying to force his swollen injured foot in the shoe in between wincing and curse words.

"You can't control everything, Kudo," Kaito answered plainly, walking forward and snatching the shoe from Conan's hands. "And quit that. It hurts watching you." He straightened and tucked the shoe on a high bookshelf in the living room, ignoring Conan's angry glare. "Just hold on, we're almost ready to go," he said loading up as many boxes he could carry and disappearing into the kitchen.

Left with nothing to do, Conan flopped back onto the floor, staring up at the ceiling with an unfocused gaze. He absently groped for his pockets, hoping to at least find out if Ran was all right until he remembered Heiji had been holding his phones after he'd changed at the hotel, the damn dress having no pockets at all. Which only led to a whole new realm of depressing thoughts. How was he going to explain to Ran and her parents why they had just been kidnapped into protective custody, it would be unfair to let Sato and Takagi take all the blame and he knew it. Hearing the sound of arguing coming vaguely from the kitchen, he picked himself up and clung to furniture and kitchen cabinets until he'd hobbled himself to the garage door in the laundry room where he could easily hear everything.

"Well, where am I supposed to put _my_ stuff_!_?" Kaito griped to the blonde forcing another file box in the luxury car's already full trunk.

"I don't _care_ about what _toys_ you want to bring! This is _evidence_!" Hakuba argued back, leaning down on the trunk lid to force it closed.

"It's _my_ car!" Kaito snapped back.

"Mature. And complaining is hardly going to change the amount of evidence we need to take," Hakuba replied. "Just… _find_ a place!" Conan limped to the door and pushed it open a crack cautiously, locating Hakuba trying to stack the last of the boxes he'd brought home the night before into the backseat while still leaving room for sitting with Kaito huffily opening the front passenger door. In a corner against the wall, Heiji was watching the argument play out with amusement.

"You _seatbelted_ the computers_!_?" Kaito muttered with a low glare.

"That hard drive is fragile, Kuroba!" Hakuba replied with finality. "And you better not drive like a maniac, that hard drive is priceless evidence!" Kaito glared at the blonde with an eyebrow twitching madly and turned back to creatively arranging his tackle boxes in the foot space of the front seat, building up the pile until they were leaning against the two computer towers with low muttered unintelligible curses. Conan pressed back away from the door to avoid being hit when Kaito stalked to the door, presumably to collect the last of his boxes, pausing the moment he noticed the kid.

"You're supposed to be resting," Kaito told him pointedly, but opened the door wide anyway. "Go on, I'll get your shoe," he said, standing aside for Conan to limp through. Finally able to see the sleek Jaguar in all its glory, Conan paused in the doorway, staring at it with wide eyes, verily impressed.

"_That's_ your mom's car_?_!" Conan asked in disbelief. In the room, Heiji and Hakuba looked up at him, finally noticing his presence. "That's a Jaguar E-type…"

"The 2+2. Yeah, she _is_ nice," Kaito agreed with a smug grin. "Mint and not a single scratch, ding, or replacement. And _Hakuba_ over there, better not tear the leather!" he called in a purposefully loud voice to the blonde, trying to force fit his last box over the mid-seat median without taking up more of the backseat's sitting space.

"No, I mean… my mom has one just like this," Conan said taking the small step down onto the garage's concrete floor with a wince. Just backing his way out of the car, Hakuba stared at him sharply, unbeknownst to the child focused on making his way across the room with mincing steps, and then back up to Kaito who gave him a cryptic shrug, disappearing back inside the house.

Gathering his last few boxes, Kaito gave his hidden room a last good look and shut the room with a leg. Double-checking the front door and grabbing the small red and white shoe, he crossed into the living room and slipped out back opening the gate to his doves' hutch. Obediently trained, each bird stayed on their perch, waiting for orders. Standing back from the door, he gave a complex whistle and watched the chaos of feathers as his brood flew off, disappearing from view quickly. "Bye guys. Jii will take good care of you all until I get back," he said in a soft voice. He started slightly feeling the brush of wings against the side of his face as one of his doves stubbornly perched on his shoulder. "So, you want to come with us Snowflake?" he asked softly, brushing a finger over the bird's breast feathers with a light grin. "Okay." Locking the pen shut again, he took a deep breath and plunged back into the house and back into the garage, hitting the door opener as he went. "Lets go. We need to catch up with everyone else," he said, carefully stacking the last of his boxes on top of the computer towers, tucking them under the seatbelt strap and adding a small travel cage with a lone dove. "Watch her, okay?" he asked Conan, tossing him his shoe as he made his way around to the driver's seat, collecting his keys from Hakuba climbing into the backseat behind him.

"You _do_ know how to drive, right Kuroba?" he asked in a low apprehensive voice.

"Of course. I know what I'm doing," he muttered, shutting his door. He watched in light amusement as Conan scrambled over the backseat and squeezed past Hakuba's mountain of boxes in the middle of the car to sit on the front seat armrest, an arm holding the bird cage steady. "You're not going to have a seatbelt there so be careful, Kudo," he warned him softly, turning the engine while Heiji closed his own door, and grinned lightly when the kid waved him off impatiently. "All right. Lets go," he mused more to himself than anyone else, backing out of his driveway and turning for the highway, leaving Ekoda-cho and Tokyo behind.

_~fin~_

/

/

/

AN:

Happy 'death' anniversary Akai (as if, we all know you're alive) this being Friday the 13th. I had always intended that chapter 13 be released on Friday the 13th so here you are. Congrats readers, you got a double release of two chapters, 12 and 13(chapters 7 & 8 by my own odd chaptering) and right on the heels of chapter 11(~6~). For one reason only. I actually was gonna release these three about three or so months apart so I could take my time working on the next two but I was foiled by one thing. After this Friday the 13th of July 2012 the next Friday the 13th won't be until September of 2013. I decided that would be too cruel to make you wait that long so I rushed you these next two. You have now gotten 100 pages out of me early, so enjoy. I am now going to take a bit of a vacation from writing. Don't worry, it won't be a long one. But I've got art projects, paintings and sewing projects I've been putting off for almost two years because of this story and I'm putting in for some me-time. So please be patient with this giant peace offering. Of course I'm already working on the next chapter, I just got half a scene done this week, I'm just putting it on a bit of a back burner for a couple of months. I just started a new job and I'm not too sure if I want to continue my current one for much longer (I hate Gamestop, I hate them, I hate them!) so I just need some time to work things out and again, I have paintings that need to be finished and sewing to do. But I'll be back soon enough, I swear! And we are starting a new path on Fallout after all. The beginning of this story is now concluded. Now we start the next leg of the journey. Thank you all for following me this far but this story has only just begun. I hope you follow me to the end. I will see you all again after my vacance my little ringo-chans. (If you get the reference, give yourself a gold star, two if you can sing the song)

Research:

I did a slight bit of canon fudging. I readily admit it. In episode 18 of season one, Matsumoto Sayuri's wedding is interrupted by her near death where the groom, Toshihiko almost kills her. He gets arrested and does his time and according to the episode's epilogue, they marry anyway three years later. The episode ends with a very lovely photo of them on their wedding day with Matsumoto–keishi in the background. So technically speaking, they aren't married yet according to the Conan timeline of it being less than two years that he's been small. But seeing as time seems to be a pretty fluid concept in the Conan world, I'd rather have her already married making that photo valid, than kill her father before she technically should have married making that photo invalid. I'm usually pretty meticulous about my canon facts but it just seemed too cruel to do that to her. So please forgive this one fudged fact.

On Sayuri Matsumoto-sensei and Miwako Sato-keiji:

Growing up the daughter of a teacher, my mother's friends were her coworkers and principal (all teachers) and my first friends were the their children. We pretty much knew each other and hung out because our parents did. Not being or knowing any police officers or law enforcement people, I can only speculate that having a job that could cost your life and that consistently places your life in the hands of your coworkers and peers has one growing up being tight with your coworkers and friends-slash-family almost environment. That said, their kids likely grew up like I did, your friends being the kids of your parent's friends. Having had parents that were cops within the same era at the Beika Police Department, Sato and Matsumoto's daughter likely knew each other growing up if not were close friends themselves, or at least that's my theory. I do have Sato use a more polite '–san' with Sayuri for the simple fact that even though they may have been friends when young, Sayuri is the daughter of Sato's superior officer and someone of rank, Superintendent Matsumoto and thus I feel Sato would feel she should use such a level of politeness .

The weapons:

PSS Silent: This Russian gun has a built in silencing effect due to firing special cartridges that jams the piston after firing trapping the propellant gases along with much of the noise, smoke, and flash, inside the case.

Kel-Tec P32: a small, light concealed type handgun only 5 inches long and weighing around 7 ounces loaded.

My personal thanks to the Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond (who's adorable like a puppy) and of course, the one and only, often imitated but never replicated, Stig. I became a fan a full year ago (from the time I wrote this chapter) in preparation of writing this chapter. Thanks for the knowledge… and the laughs. And seriously, I don't know what History Channel was thinking. Top Gear is _not_ a show about cars. It's Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond (and the Stig) doing a show about cars. Give us the BBC Top Gear! I'll get off my soapbox now.

I lied about the soapbox. **GIN'S. CAR.** I fucking hate you Gin… and your damn little Porsche too. First off, you're a liar Conan. Liar, liar, pants on fire. For one thing, Gin has TWO, count 'em TWO different Porsches. Or at least that's how I'm counting it. He has one Porsche he used from the introduction of the thing in episode 128-The Black Organization Ten Million Yen Bank Robbery through episode 176-178 Meeting the Black Organization Again pts.1-3. Note the double grill on the back of the car over the engine. While it's parked on the curb, Conan walks up to the _back_ of the car and muses "Porsche 356A." This is the first time in the show that he sees Gin's car. Yet the Porsche he drives the next time we see him and his car in episode 345 Head-To-Head Match With the Black Organization: Two Mysteries of the Night of the Full Moon, the back of his car has a _single_ grill over the engine. Now either the artists didn't know what they were doing, or they were working off faulty data and fixed their mistake three hundred eps in. The car they were initially drawing seems to be suffering from multiple personality disorder. From the back, the car is an almost perfect match to the 356B (Type 6) 1961 Coupe Super 90. Except for the front bumper and the nose drop Porsche insignia on the bonnet, these were borrowed from the 356A (Type 2) 1959 Carrera GS Coupe. His car can't be a Carrera though because of the slope of the back of his car seen from the side. His car is a Coupe. Seen from the side, the car's chassis is a continuous single slope from the roof of the car to the rear bumper. The Carrera has a larger more prominent rear wheel well and seen from the side looks like it has a bit of a hitch above the back wheels giving the look of two arches. First off Conan, no 356A has a double grill, or rather no 356A in the way they meant Gin to have.

The 356 comes in many kinds. First off, they come in 356, 356A, 356B, and 356C lines, each the new edition after retiring the one that came before it with upgrades and mods that come with new improved technology. Each of those lines also come in the Coupe, Speedster, Cabriolet, and then there's the Carrera which also comes in the previous three kinds. They also came in "types" numbered 1-6 (with no type 4 as far as I could find). With each subsequent alphabet letter, Porsche also made more of the cars. For serious Porsche aficionados and particularly those of the 356 line the rarest and, if you're going to brag like Gin does, the _only_ one that will get you brag rights **period** is the Type 1 and someone speaking with Gin would be shrewd to know that reference. (The only way his car could be more pimp would be if he had a speedster, but I digress.) Very few were made and they are the earliest ones, the 356 from 1950 to 1955, and the 356A from 1956 to early 1958. I guess once they realized they were drawing the wrong car, and a chimeric one at that, they booked up on their research and changed the design. Rather then say they screwed up, I'll allow that he just has two different Porsches. From ep345 onward, they draw a correct, mostly accurate Type 1. Specifically, a 1957 Coupe 356A (T1). (I have pics) There is still the slight hiccup in the front bumper. The one with a floating bar over the top. This bumper actually comes from the '57 speedster (a convertible) and they draw this bumper in movie 13. In the latest episodes (the Red vs Black arc), they draw the correct bumper, no floating bar and with two vertical notches. I'll allow that he was still in the process of restoring his baby. No wonder his car was such a bitch to research.

For those for whom this research can be of assistance, Gin's car has excellent braking, handles turns like a dream and tops out at 110-115 mph. Not _really_ fast but in Japan, cars are capped from going faster than a certain speed anyway, 180km/h to be exact (about 112mph). (Not that organization vehicles would listen to that anyway.) It has left side steering (American standard side) and only one side view mirror on the driver's side. He has less then 6000 miles on it as of the last time I saw his odometer in 345 so his car was practically factory mint when he got it considering how he uses it as his main vehicle. (Must have cost a fortune. Guess the organization pays _really_ good salary.) His car predates seatbelts. The ignition is not on the steering wheel column but on the dashboard on the left side lower corner near the door. Manual windows, of course, and the car's a manual, four gears. Porsche didn't introduce automatic driving until around April or May of 1968, the Volkswagon following in July of the same year. His car has air conditioning and heating. The engine is four cylinder and the cylinders are actually made out of cast iron, two on each side of the engine. Means he better not accidentally drive it off a pier, his engine 'll rust but good. The engine is also air-cooled and thus has no radiator and needs no water or anti-freeze. The driver seat and passenger seat sit flush next to each other with no arm rest area between with plenty of leg space, a six-foot man would have plenty of room. The back seat is a bench but there's a small rise in the middle that would pretty much encourage a person to sit behind the driver or passenger side, great for two people, three not so much. The back seat also folds flat for more storage space. And as far as I've been able to research, that whole 'Germany's Rainfrog' comment is a reference to the silhouette created by the bonnet and front headlights of the car as seen from the front at a low angle about level with the bumper (about Conan's eye-height). And one last thing, I hate your car Gin. I really do.

My thanks to my local library for their library exchange that won me the 'Porsche 356: Owner's Workshop Manual: 1957-1965.' Only three copies in the country's library exchange system and they worked their butts off to find it for me. And my thanks to the official Porsche 356 Registry, thanks for the pics and well-organized information.

Episodes Referenced: 18 June Bride Murder Case, 75 The Loan Company President's Murder Case, 176-178 Meeting with the Black Organization Again pt1-3, 232 The Mansion Degradation Case, 345 Head-to-Head Match With the Black Organization; Two Mysteries of the Night of the Full Moon, 445 Secret of the Russian Blue, 491-504 Clash of Red and Black! pt1-14, 545-6 The Witch Enshrouded by Fog pt1-2

/

/

/


End file.
